Time to Say Goodbye
by RedrumSprinkles
Summary: They called Unification the war to end all wars, a conflict that consumed billions of lives and burned a thousand worlds. And in the middle of it all were the 'Konoha 12', the squad I grew up with, trained with. My Squad. Military Sci-fi AU! Rated M for language, adult themes, and graphic violence. Complete.
1. That Night, We Fell From the Heavens

**Author's Note: Stop! I can hear what you're thinking: "this has no business being fan fiction". Well, this was an (ORIGINAL) short story I finished a few months back, which I converted into a fanfiction for fun (I'm trying to get it published, and since THAT won't happen anytime soon, I couldn't wait for reactions). So here's Naruto with guns and sci-fi, all in good fun. Hope you enjoy!**

**Oops, almost forgot the disclaimer!**

**In a change of pace from most fics, I own almost everything in the story! The only things I don't own are names and concepts that come from Naruto (i.e. Sasuke Uchiha and his Sharingan)**

**Credit to u/BendyWend for the cover image.**

* * *

**Chapter 1: That Night, We Fell From the Heavens**

You never forget your first drop. The howling, the heat, the red lights and blaring klaxons. Sitting here on my hundredth birthday - almost eighty years later- I still remember everything about those two terrifying minutes.

When they shoot you out, it's jarring – a rough kick in the gut before weightlessness sets in again. The planet below you gets bigger and bigger before it completely fills that tiny viewport in the pod door.

The planet below us on our first D-Day was red. A sun-seared desert planet, covered in wisps of toxic smog. Its name was –innocuously enough- Quiet Dunes, a large desert planet orbiting Fomalhaut. You could see its largest city -Erebus- all the way from orbit. It was a massive industrial metropolis, fed by mining operations that dug deep into the red sands.

Erebus was our target, our LZ. The plan was to land in the sprawling slums, and work our way into the enemy military operations, where we would wage guerrilla warfare against almost four hundred thousand of the entrenched rebels. Harass them, harry them, sow the seeds of chaos, drive them to exhaustion and paranoia, while the main assault force pushed its way into the city. That was it. Simple, but certainly not at first.

* * *

When we detached from our titanic host ship, the _Omodaru_, I saw the other drop pods through the viewport. The sheer number of them astounded me. I guessed our landing force to be about full battalion. My squad was to remain autonomous unless ordered otherwise by the woman in charge of the assault on Erebus - Field Marshal Tsunade.

I heard comms crackle in my helmet, a hail from our dispatcher, the cheery and helpful Shizune Kato.

"Be advised Fireteam Seven, you're hitting atmo in thirty seconds, how copy."

"Copy that, Shizu-chan, we're secured and ready to drop." I tugged at my harness to emphasize the point. True to form, it didn't budge.

"Good hunting, Fireteam Seven!"

"Ooh-rah!" We shouted back. Not long after, the shaking started. The planet's atmosphere had swallowed us.

"Drop pod is entering the atmosphere. Have a safe descent." An automated voice chimed, filling the cramped space with a calm, soothing voice.

I knew the shaking would be bad, but the simulators they ran us through at the Academy didn't compare. It felt like my guts were turning into a smoothie.

I looked over at the rest of my fireteam. Despite their apparent uneasiness, they seemed to be holding up pretty well, bulky and intimidating in their black titanium-plate armor. This was something we've been preparing for our whole lives. All of us, the so-called 'Konoha Twelve'. We'd spent all of our lives living and training together, and now it was do or die: our baptism in fire.

Almost literally. The friction of the atmosphere crashing against our tiny drop pod had superheated the interior, leaving the floor boiling hot and the air nigh unbreathable.

Sakura, my oldest and closest friend, adjusted well to this new hell. Leaning on her monstrous, tri-barreled 'Hellhound' HLD-6 LMG, she gave me a small grimace through her visor and gave me a sarcastic two-fingered salute.

Her enormous frame and sheer brute strength must have been the only reason she wasn't gripping the harness with an iron fist. That, and her will to put on a tough face for Sasuke. The _teme_ himself saw nothing of course. He kept his eyes shut in an attempt to remain serene despite the sheer noise and violent tremors that shook us around like toys.

I was scared as hell, but I was having the time of my life.

"Whoooo!" I shouted through comms, "fine day for flying, huh?" I was playing with fire, talking like that. It was fifty-fifty if I bit my tongue or not.  
"Shut it _dobe_." Sasuke said, not deigning to open his eyes. I may have been the commanding officer of the 'Konoha 12', but we were too close to not have some light-hearted ribbing. Comms popped on again.

"Ok, Kosenjobi (Kosenjobi Squad being the official name for our squad, the so-called Konoha 12), you should be breaking cloud cover in ten seconds." Shizu-chan again. She'd be providing us with almost all of our support in the coming week, issuing orders, supply drops, orbital strikes, navigation and the like. Since I was the _gunso_ of Kosenjobi Squad, we'd be in near-constant contact. Not that I'm complaining mind you, hearing that silvery-sweet voice of hers did wonders to brighten my day. Even if my day currently included being dropped from low orbit in a three-meter-wide pod plummeting towards half a million angry rebels at 11km/s.

Even though the worst of the rattling was over when we broke cloud cover, the ride didn't get any easier. Red emergency lights blinked on, bathing us in a dark crimson glow. The klaxons activated, blaring a keening, desperate wail.

Our braking jets slammed on, crushing us into our seats. Then, the flak started. Huge explosions rippled outside our dressed-up deathtrap, shooting swarms of shrapnel that rattled us even worse than atmo entry.

At once, my squad set comms on fire.

"Oh, **_shit_**! Hole! They shot a fuckin' hole in us!" Kiba cried.

"Who's down? Everyone alive?" Neji shouted.

"They hit our flaps! We've lost control! We're goin' wide!" Someone screamed. Too many people were talking now, I couldn't recognize the voice.

"Who's that? Who's hit?"

"We're burning up in here!"

"KOSENJOBI!" I shouted over general comms, as loud as I could without biting my tongue off. "Who are we?"

Sakura replied immediately. "We are Marines!" She yelled, desperate to be heard over the bursting flak and roar of decent. _Teme_ was next, followed by the rest.

"WE ARE THE FIRST AND THE LAST. THE TIP OF THE SPEAR. THE POINT THAT PEIRCES THE HEART OF THE FOE."

"WHAT ARE WE?" I cried. They were focusing now, ignoring their peril.

"WE ARE WARBORN. BORN AND BRED TO BE THE ULTIMATE WARRIORS."

"WHY ARE WE HERE?"

"TO CRUSH OUR ENEMIES BENEATH OUR BOOTS." They chorused, a deep red anger giving the Marine's Creed a righteous fury.

"WE ARE THE HARBINGERS OF THEIR DEATH, THE VANGUARDS OF THEIR DESTRUCTION." A piece of shrapnel whizzed through my pod, but left my fireteam unharmed. Wind howled through the hole it made, drowning out any other sound, even my own hoarse screaming.  
"AND WITH OUR COMING, THEY WILL KNOW FEAR." We finished. Our parachute unfurled, jarring us again as we slipped under the range of their flak cannons.

"Ooh-RAH, that's right, Marines! Now give me a god-damn sit-rep!" I yelled.  
"Shino here, Fireteam Eight. We're alive, but our pod's coming apart at the seams." Landing would be tough for them but not impossible. Of course, Shino delivered his report in the calmest, most detached voice possible.

"Shikamaru here, Fireteam Ten. All O.K. Flak's a drag." Typical Shikamaru.

"Neji reporting for Fireteam Nine. All breathing."

"We're good over here." I said, looking over my squad-mates and best friends.

I looked at the pod. The hole was burned at the edges, heated to melting point by our entry. I still felt sick. The flak had pushed us way off course, and the blue map on my visor's HUD placed us in a very, _very_ bad spot: four kilometers from the center of Erebus.

"Heads up guys, we're landing in the middle of a hornet's nest." I said. "You know where to go. Do your best to get there on time!" I clicked off general comms. Radio silence from here on out.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelling again. She sounded angry and… scared?

"What's up, Sakura-chan?" She pointed at the altitude meter.

"Prepare for impact." The pod chirped cheerily. _Shit._

With a bone-jarring crash, we landed, our pod rolling down the street before coming to rest against a street lamp. After shaking away the urge to pass out, I assessed my team. A quick look told me my friends were alive, if not altogether well. Sasuke hunched over and vomited the shitty paste breakfast we ate aboard the _Omodaru_. The pile of sick immediately started steaming, superheated by the floor. It was pretty gross, but I grinned. Sakura and I managed to fight off our nausea, and now I could torture Sasuke about his weak stomach for _months_.

The pod door was facing the sky, showing the stark black night and the stars we hailed from. I tried to open it, but no luck. No matter how much I grunted and struggled, the hole in our pod had screwed up the locking mechanism, and it refused to budge.

"Uh... Sakura?" She gave me a devilish grin before placing herself below the door.

"SHANNARO!" She shouted, shunting the door open with an explosive upwards kick. Turning back to me, she gave a deep, sarcastic bow. "After you, Naruto-hime." I rolled my eyes.

"Thank you for the time-wasting theatrics." Sasuke said, wiping his mouth with an armored fist. "Now can we go?"

Agreeing, I grabbed my rifle, (the standard-issue M-34) before clambering out of the pod. Taking in the city around me, I gave a low whistle.

Erebus was a dirty red nightmare. Legions of pre-fabricated buildings stood roof to roof, lacking any sort of logic or order. Red sand covered the walls and streets, a thin film that stuck to the city like a layer of grimy, bloody skin. Thick clouds of pollution spilled into the sky, by-products of the city's gargantuan mining operations. Sparks from busted power lines danced and flickered into the street, thanks to a certain drop pod's disastrous landing. A lone siren howled into the empty streets. Time to go.

Sakura was busy hauling a dazed Sasuke out, graciously accepting a noncommittal 'Hn.' as thanks. Fireteam Seven was ready. Armed and armored to the teeth and traditional hitae-ate tied around our helmets, we were ready. We warborn had survived our first drop.

Sasuke assessed the city with distant, blazing eyes. They were a bright red with three small flecks that looked like _tomoe_, thanks to his gen-mod (snarkily referred to by the much cooler name Kekkai Genkai) the Sharingan.

We all had the same choice after joining the Marines when we were six: to choose a genetic modification, or refuse them entirely. Nearly everyone accepted them. The general populace often saw those who did as monsters, but we didn't care. We are Warborn, and the opinions of the civilians we protected didn't bother us (on the rare occasion we actually heard them).

Sasuke chose the Sharingan mod like the rest of the legendary Uchiha family, allowing him to see half again as far as a normal human, as well as the ability to perceive roughly one hundred frames per second. Naturally, he was the squad's designated marksman.

When Sakura gave me a thumbs up, it struck me once again just how _huge_ she was. Having chosen a myostatin-inhibitor as her gen-mod, she was a hulking brute, two meters tall and leagues stronger than every other member of Kosenjobi Squad. Besides her tri-barreled LMG, she carried eight drums of ammo and sixteen satchel charges, a living, breathing, pink-haired armory.

After I made sure they were okay, I checked my surroundings. Comms were totally silent, an unusual and alien sensation. I desperately wanted to call a comms check to make sure my friends were ok. I was their leader. I couldn't help but feel responsible.

I also missed the banter. Hearing Shikamaru's constant bitching, Shino's dry snark, Kiba's vulgarity, Lee's enthusiasm, and Ino's _tsundere_ act always kept me calm during training missions. I decided to annoy _teme_ instead, it would have to do for now.

"You gonna make it, Sasuke?" I asked, grinning wide. He huffed.

"I'll do my best _dob_-" his head snapped up. "Contact! Enemy APC inbound!" Learning long ago to trust his Sharingan, we dove for cover, despite not seeing the threat for ourselves. It made itself known anyway. Throwing on its floodlights, the armored vehicle bathed us in a pale white light. It plowed through abandoned civilian cars, pushing them to the side of the street with ease.

"Ah, shit." Sakura hissed, crouching behind a minivan. As I saw it, we had two options. We could book it to the rendezvous point and hope they didn't follow us, or we could…

"Sakura! Give me your gun!"

"Naruto, what the hell are you planning?" I wasn't sure myself, but if I stopped to think about it, I'd lose whatever inertia I had.

"Just… do it!" I whispered, careful to stay behind my own cover, a rusting, abandoned bus. Reluctantly, she obeyed, tossing me the heavy gun like a toy. I caught it, a painful _oomf_ escaping me.

"Now," I said, snapping my fingers. "Take care of it. Sakura-style." Settling the massive LMG in a broken window, I saw the APC come to a halt a few dozen meters in front of us. I opened up, pouring a storm of .30 caliber rounds into the vehicle.

"Naruto!" She cried. "You're insane!" But she obeyed, dashing into an alleyway.

"Get in that shop, Sasuke! Cover her!" The APC returned fire with a regular, deafening roar of its cannon. High explosive shells ripped the bus I was hiding behind to shreds, sending twisted metal and shrapnel flying.

A dull pain laced up my arm, and I sprinted behind the nearest pre-fab, hearing the shells whistle past me and shredding the street behind me. Red sand choked the air, kicked up from the gunfire and explosions. Hazarding a glance at Sasuke, I saw him dive into the shop. Thankfully, I had drawn all of the attention. No bullets sought him out. Sakura had disappeared.

I blind-fired around the corner, spent casings pattering the cement in a torrent of brass. The rounds themselves ricocheted off the APC, whistling high-pitched screams into the night. A regular popping noise sounded out, Sasuke's rifle doing its best to be heard over the roar of the cannon. If he was firing, it could only mean one thing: rebel troops were deploying.

The building I was behind shook and rattled, withering under the constant barrage. A round exploded into the corner with a flash of white. I flew black into the ground, covered in debris. Ears ringing, I stood and dashed out again. Sakura should be about to strike, and the enemies' attention should be focused on me.

Sure enough, while the squad of soldiers shot at me (and now Sasuke), they missed the hulking rosette behind them. Brandishing one of her satchel charges, she sprinted forward and threw the explosive into the APC's open troop bay. She spun on her heels and ran before diving down into the red-stained road, arms over her ears and clasping a detonator. Rolling away, she thumbed a big red button.

A resounding _crack _issued forth, followed by a huge plume of fire that shot into the night sky. The pressure wave knocked me back, followed by a blast of heat. When I opened my eyes again, I saw a flaming, twisted wreck where the APC used to be. Charred corpses surrounded it, and the road was silent again.

Sakura threw a fist into the air, her mouth making the shape for 'shannaro'. Damned if I could hear it though, my ears were still ringing. I gave her the Hellhound back when we reconvened.

"Too heavy for my tastes." I said, grinning widely.

"You're so lucky that worked." She replied, coughing. The sand had filled the air again, and it tasted like metal. Sirens and faint flashes of red and blue pierced the thick clouds of dust. A klaxon echoed throughout the city. We were in the middle of an incoming shit storm.

"We need to keep moving." Sasuke said, acting like he wasn't impressed. He was right though. Reinforcements would be here soon, and just three Warborn couldn't hold off that shit storm.

"Right. Rendezvous is going to be a little tough to get to." I said, waving them forward into a jog. "We'll have to cut through this commercial district." I pulled out my data slate from inside of my armor. The data slate was a small, thin black pad with most of my HUD info, except that it was linked into the HUD of my fireteam as well. I drew a line on my data slate, updating our maps with a path through Erebus.

"Uh. Naruto."

"Hm? What's up, Sakura-chan?"

"That's the wrong way, _dobe_." Sasuke said, finishing her thoughts.

"Oh. I rubbed the back of my head in embarrassment. "Oops."

"It's not the _wrong_ way. Just less efficient." Sakura said, drawing her own path. A line appeared on my map, cutting through a tangled mess of residential pre-fabs to the actual rendezvous.

"Damn it. All those classes…"

"People make mistakes." Sakura said, shrugging.

"Stupid mistakes." Sasuke corrected, never missing an opportunity to harangue me.

"And some people get a wittle sick in the tum-tum." I countered. I honestly felt bad about the slip-up, hence my defensiveness.

"Naruto!" Sakura said slapping me in the back of the head. "I'm trying to help you here!" I heeded her, deciding Sasuke's rancid look more than made up for it. "And besides, it was our first drop, it's a miracle we survived!"

As we jogged through twisting alleys and piles of debris, street lamps became more and more infrequent, until there were none at all. Shrouded in night, we felt a little more comfortable moving around.

After two klicks, I remembered I had been hurt. That was the downside to my own kekkai genkai, a nociceptor inhibitor. I could take quite a bit of damage before I felt any drastic pain, and even bullet wounds only hurt like a dull ache. However, with this lessened response, I had to remember I was hurt; otherwise, I could injure myself further. I stopped our march.

"Hey guys, let's take a quick breather." When Sakura to face me, her eyes widened. She finally saw the wound. I didn't blame her for taking so long, it was pretty dark out.

"You're hurt!" I looked at it. It hurt, sure, but it wasn't more than a deep scratch. Nothing had lodged itself in me, thankfully, but blood had seeped down my arm to soak my navy-blue fatigues a deep crimson. Sand caked the wound, and loose clothes and skin were torn to hell around it.

Sakura already had her medkit out.

"Sakura, that's not-"

"Shut it _sir_." She said, with as much sarcasm as she could muster. A quick swipe of an anti-septic pad and a spray of med-foam was all it needed.

I sighed in relief as the foam settled into the cut. Med-foam was a medical wonder, combining a sealing agent, nerve dimmer, and anti-bacterial solutions. It never fails to cure what ails you.

Feeling the foam dull the pain receptors on my arm, I flexed it, satisfied the seal would hold.

"Thanks Sakura, I owe you my life. Allow me to take you on a dinner date as thanks." She snorted at my grandiose (and exaggerated) thanks.

"That sounds more like punishment than gratitude." I waved her remarks off.

"Just hand me the anti-septic." I pouted, pretending to be hurt. The date thing was a long-running joke between us. Despite what everyone thought at the academy, we didn't see each other in that way. She handed me the wipe, which I used to mop up some other scratches I had sustained. When you came to a new planet, it's prudent to watch out for any kind of infection. Sasuke took the time to slide rounds into a magazine, each 7.7×56mm round pushed into place with a metallic _click_.

I took a deep breath, ready to continue.

It was unnerving. Us three vs. an entire city of enemies. Every corner, every turn could be the last one we ever take. Distant and staccato small-arms fire was a constant song that spilled into the night, and each pop and crack had us thinking about our squad mates. Was that them? Are they all alive? Are they dying as we speak?

It was torture. Communication was one of the most important parts of waging war (that had been drilled into my head since Day One of the Academy), and I was completely devoid of it.

Sakura, knowing what was on my mind, patted my shoulder. A small smile worked itself onto her face.

"They'll be fine. We're alright, aren't we?" She had a point.

"I guess our first drop could have gone worse, huh?" I said, smiling back. She was right though. My squad, the Konoha 12, the Kosenjobi, were alive. We had a mission to complete, and hell, if I was leading it, I was going to make damn sure it was done right.

We had a long way to go, but we could do this.

* * *

**Author's Note (PLEASE READ!): That wasn't so bad, was it? It _was_? Well, be sure to let me know why! I love hearing thoughts and criticism (in case that wasn't obvious) so hit me up with a review or PM. No matter what, I'll respond. And if you ask a good question or have an insightful comment, I'll put it in my author's notes for the chapter.**

**And if you liked the story, I got good news for you - it's done. A'yup. All done. I'll be posting a 'story' chapter every other day, while I post 'interlude' chapters on the intervening days. These 'interlude' chapters will be insights to the 'Warborn' universe (as I've tentatively decided to call it), as well as hints to the story's progression, and splicing more Naruto characters into the story's background.**

**Which brings me to another point. There are only two significant OCs in this entire story. So those who are worried this will be my OCs from the original story + a few token Naruto characters, you are _dead_ wrong. I heavily rewrote this story to fit the themes and characters of Naruto. And in all honesty, it's a lot more fun. And I hope you think so too.**

**See you next chapter!**


	2. Interlude I

**A/N: For those who did not read the note at the end of the last story, let me explain myself again. This is an interlude chapter, meaning it does not progress the story, but instead offers insight into the universe in which I've placed your everyone's favorite Konoha shinobi (as well as explaining any differences that arise from that). These chapters will also provide hints as to how the story will develop, so read carefully. Or don't, and skip ahead to the next chapter when it's out. I don't give a shit.**

**Review Responses:**

****MYK-ON: Hopefully you'll stick around for more!****

******Poppy Grave Dreams: Thanks again! You're too kind! :D******

**Sab3r7: This is mostly hard science fiction (that means more realistic science fiction, for those who are unaware... think Arthur C. Clarke's _Contact_ as hard sci-fi and _Star Wars_ as soft sci-fi) However, the gen-mods are pretty much just space-magic. I wanted to have some fun giving the Naruto characters their kekkai genkai, so I 'plooped' 'em in here for shits and giggles.**

**Disclaimer: I own everything except the Naruto stuff.**

* * *

Interlude 1

**Excerpt from _Unification: An In-Depth Analysis And History_ by Dr. Duncan. S. Thompson of Olympus University, Dr. Yiang Xu of Olympus University and Dr. Naota Haruno of Oxford University. _Chapter 28.2 The Concept of the 'Super Soldier' and Bioethics of Unification Warfare Section 2 – 'Warborn' - An Introduction_**

It was in the beginning decade of Unification that certain warriors gained exceptional fame and renown. Larger, stronger, smarter, and more agile than the average soldier, these exceptionally talented individuals were seemingly "born for war" and dubbed 'Warborn' by the rank and file of the armed services. The irony is not lost on how well this name applied to them.

Naturally or artificially conceived, these 'Warborn' were placed in a rigorous biological and psychological refurbishment program, lasting from the time of their conception, to their graduation from their Academies at age nineteen. These child-soldiers, referred to as 'Acolytes' by their creators and trainers, were allowed to refuse their assigned roles at the age of six, but only eighteen individuals of unknown millions were ever recorded doing so.

Much of their upbringing is still highly classified, and much of the solid data on the subject is composed of sketchy field reports, shaky camera footage, and official statements via Secretary of Defense Maxime Artyomnova; which were reported as vague and murky at the time of their release. (The statements can be seen in full in the Appendix on page 3443)

What is known for sure is that once accepted into the program, Acolytes were destined for one of the three main branches of the Hegemony Armed Services: the Planetary Forces, the Marine Cadre, or the Navy, which were discussed individually earlier in this textbook.

Few 'Warborn' remain, legacies and heroic remnants from Unification. Most (with the notable exception of famed Walker-ace Temari no Sabaku, who often toured the Hegemony on recruitment drives), prefer to live in obscurity.

* * *

**A/N: I can already here the cries. "RedrumSprinkles, you copied the Spartans from Halo!" Whoa there, horsey. Let me explain to you why that isn't the case.**

**1\. Warborn aren't unstoppable, pillage-hungry murder-machines. They tire. They feel wounds. They don't have ridonkulous head-to-toe armor that can withstand FREAKIN' PLASMA BLASTS. They also never went through surgical augmentation, or any of that wacky hoo-donk. **

**2\. They're older, and treated more humanely. They join the Academy at six, but don't move into a barracks until they're eleven. They're also not dropped into combat zones when they're fucking _twelve_.**

**3\. They're not nearly as professional, as you've probably already discovered. They're effective yes, but they aren't quite so... robotic.**

**In fact, they're more like ODST, but the concept of orbital deployment is hardly original to Halo...**

**ANYWAYS, more differences will appear as the story continues. But if you disagree, or have more comments/observations, please, let me know! Always like getting feedback. **

**I'm sorry if you don't like the interlude chapters. I had a lot of fun writing them. I'm a girl who would totally read a history textbook for a fictional universe... so writing one was a lot of fun. It might also explain why I like the Silmarillion so much...**

**Tomorrow, the story continues.**


	3. The Weeping, Familiar Face of Erebus

**A/N - Little bit slower-paced chapter this time. By the way, you guys like the interlude? Yes? No? Let me know!**

**Review Replies:**

**Immaguest: I'm glad you like the story! I won't give any hints away about shipping, not just yet. The pairings become obvious enough in the next few story chapters. And for what it's worth, the last few chapters of this story will have the pairings displayed on the title.**

****Poppy Grave Dreams: I'm happy you like it! It's a lot of fun to write!****

**SilentObserver: Wow, thanks a lot! I'll certainly keep trying, although getting published is really hard. :( And I like that you pick up on subtleties! :D I think you'll like this story. I know I do. (And the story updates everyday at 6:30PM, btw.)**

**Anyway, here's chapter numero dos. I really like this one, for reasons I'll explain in the second note. I hope you will too.**

**The cover image was created by u/BendyWend, and I modified it a little. **

**Disclaimer: I own the stuff that is mine (the universe) and do not own the stuff that is Masashi Kishimoto's (The Naruto stuff).**

* * *

**Chapter 2: The Weeping, Familiar Face of Erebus**

"Hn." Sasuke said, stopping us when we crested a hill. Monosyllabic mutterings was usually all we could get out of him, and interpreting each 'hn' became an art form. For instance, this one sounded vaguely surprised. Twisting, dusty streets splayed out before us. A navigational nightmare, if we didn't have our maps.

"What's up, Sasuke?"

I looked where Sasuke was pointing. Huge sections of a mining spire had collapsed, leaving whole city blocks crushed under their sheer weight. Directly in our path. Sakura gave a low whistle.

"Damn it!" I said. "Where do those fleet bastards get off making our lives so difficult!"

Sasuke grunted. Even though the orbital bombardment that had preceded us had thrown us a few obstacles, it was hard ignoring its sheer destructive power. Tsunade Obaa-chan was going to be _pissed_! The whole goal of the invasion was to secure the mining operations here. No doubt someone was already getting reamed. "Any way around?"

"There's that hospital that's only partially destroyed. Right there." He said, shifting his index finger over to one of the taller buildings. It was intact for the most part, except for a few hundred tons of structural support webbing that had fallen on the left wing.

"It'll have to do. Hopefully it's not too crowded. I... don't want to have to shoot my way through a hospital."

"It shouldn't be, remember? Most of the civilians were evacuated." Sakura said, recalling our briefing.

"There were almost ten million people in this city." Sasuke said, eyes narrowing. "But we'll trust in command, hope most of them got out."

"We'll just have to see. We're approaching the poorer areas. Try to not to shoot civilians."

As we began our descent, we noticed signs of life. Windows snapping shut, and harsh english words whispered behind locked doors.

"Sakura?" I asked. She was our default translator. In addition to being the strongest, Sakura was the academic genius of the Konoha 12, able to speak seven languages and studying Planetary Physics when she was twelve. Meanwhile, I struggled to pass algebra, spoke only Japanese, and aced exactly two classes in thirteen years of schooling: Assault Tactics and Creative Writing.

"Nothing important." She said.

Not wanting rebel forces to find us, we stuck to the alleyways, and what few people we saw scurried out of our way. The further we pushed into the towering wreckage, the more a sense of dread and desperation filled the air.

The worst part was the smell. Death clung to this place like a miasma, a cloud of suffering that filled our lungs and twisted our nostrils. Blackening piles of bodies burned on street corners, cooking flesh mildly offsetting the reek of rot and decay. It dredged up bad memories. Sakura shuddered.

Screams of pain and wails of grief assaulted us as we neared the hospital. At this point, our nerves starting to fray. Even the aloof and collected Sasuke had started fiddling with his data slate.

Up close, the spire wreckage was much more impressive, a tangled mass of steel and concrete almost four stories tall. Remembering the spires could reach upwards of sixty stories, I considered ourselves lucky the bigger sections didn't fall near our rendezvous point.

Just before we reached the hospital, our way was blocked. A mess of concrete and rebar had crushed the apartment building we were behind, shearing it in half. Impossible to walk through, but not to climb. I vaulted over a meter-thick beam before clambering up some crushed scaffolding.

I offered a hand to Sakura. She took it, and I hauled her up, grunting with strain.

"I really think the huge gun was unnecessary." And she _had_ to carry it with her.

"Just cause you're jealous of my muscles doesn't mean you get to make judgment calls on my equipment." She said, a small smile on her face. She pulled an indignant Sasuke up next, his feet scrabbling for purchase. I looked at her.

"Brings you back, _ne_?" Her smile fell.

"Yeah."

"We're almost clear of this mess. C'mon," I said jostling her back to the present, "let's try and beat everyone to the rendezvous!" I gave her the biggest grin I could muster. I couldn't believe it, but _teme_ smiled too, clicking his tongue in mock annoyance.

"You really are the ultimate _dobe_." He said.

"Well, imagine the shit Ino's gonna give us if we're late. We'll never hear the end of it." He grunted in agreement, recalling her infamous nagging.

"I'll race you there." I said, always one to rekindle our schoolyard rivalry.

"Only you two can manage to be so obnoxious in the middle of a war zone." Sakura said, having long ago accepted the role of peacekeeper between us.

When we had beaten the barrier, the hospital stood before us, a Saint Ramiel's by the look of it. Its sign had no power and was hanging on rusted hinges, but the silver cross was unmistakable.

Sneaking in through an emergency exit, we crept through the hospital. It was an absolute cluster fuck. Filled to bursting with wounded, flanked by nurses and orderlies that sprinted around. Heavy dark bags hung from their exhausted, soulless eyes. There were too many civilians, and it was impossible to go through it without being spotted.

But as we pressed forward, no one stopped or challenged us. They must have been used to the sight of heavily armed soldiers. Cries of agony and grief echoed through the halls, a chilling, haunting chorus. The few patients that noticed us through their haze of pain cowered and shrank back, careful not to get in our way.

Sakura stopped, but I pushed her onwards.

"I know what you're thinking, but we need our own supplies. What if one of our own gets wounded like this? You gonna tell them you used all of our med foam on a bunch of doomed civilians?" The words hurt to say, but truth rang in them all the same.

Sakura looked angry and jerked away, shoulders sagging low. He wasn't facing me, but I could feel Sasuke's anger starting to boil.

Someone spat on us, muttering in English. I ignored it and kept moving. We weren't welcome here, I understood that.

Every so often, the walls would shake, sending a murmur of fear through the darkened hallways. The cloying smell of disinfectant and the metallic scent of blood filled the air. It was stifling. I couldn't breathe, couldn't think. Combined with the noise, it was all too much. We had to get out of here.

After what felt like hours, we found the exit on the opposite wing. Bursting out of the doors, we took deep, gasping breaths. That's when we saw the waiting line. At least a hundred-odd souls were gathered outside. At the front, a rebel conscript clutched a blood-drenched arm stump; patiently waiting for aid everyone knew would never arrive. Two children (his, I realized) no older than five, clutched onto his tattered uniform. A boy and girl, grief heavy on their shoulders.

They were emaciated. Bones stuck out under their skin like knives, hollow cheeks barely inflating with each ragged breath.

Without thinking, I dug a MRE out of my pack. I felt like a huge hypocrite after stopping Sakura, but something about these kids ate at me.

I handed them the meal, but they shrunk back, nuzzling into their dying father, and away from the big, whiskered _oni_.

The man growled something in English.

"Sakura?"

"He knows who we are... called us...Bluebacks?"

"Tell them what this is." She did, crouching down to their level. The soldier gurgled and spat a glob of blood at us.

"Fuck you." He said. I understood _that_ much at least.

I took out the crackers from the box, eating one to show it wasn't poisoned.

Reluctantly, the boy took a cracker, warmth spreading across his face when he tasted real food in what must have been weeks.

"Go slow, otherwise you'll get sick." I said, ruffling the kid's hair. Sakura translated. The girl took a piece of cheese, nibbling on it daintily, as if the food would jump out of her hands at any moment.

The soldier's brow was still furrowed in anger, but his eyes betrayed a hint of gratitude. He wouldn't be around for much longer, but he got to see his children smile again.

Setting down her LMG with a clank and rattle of rounds, Sakura untied a sterling necklace. The one she never took off. Her mother's necklace. She closed the little girl's hand around it, whispering something. The girl nodded.

We left.

"You sure you want to give that up? It's the last thing... you know."

"Yeah. I'm sure. Naruto nii-chan..." she said, using the honorific from our orphanage days, the one she used when we were alone or she was feeling down. They're a lot like us, aren't they?" Memories clouded her emerald eyes, a faraway gaze that stared into years long past.

"It crossed my mind, Nee-chan."

* * *

**Fifteen Years Ago**

That day was not nearly as clear as my first drop, for age has muddled my recollection a bit. It started with a flash of heat, followed by a deafening noise and a cacophony of screams.

The city of Konoha was aflame, a burning hell. The day was October 21st, the day the rebel fleet set my home –the city of Konoha- aflame.

Shooting stars ripped into the city from orbit, streaks of screaming fire that tore century-old buildings to the ground. We were taught duck and cover drills at the orphanage, but to us, they weren't much more than playtime under our desks. And when the real deal hit us, we weren't prepared.

I was far too young to understand what was happening. I just screamed and cried and ran as far as my tiny legs would carry me. The first real memory that wasn't flashes of pain or fear was my four-year-old self cowering in a dumpster, whimpering each time the earth shook under the weight of the barrage. Clinging to my torn orange jumpsuit, I prayed for the noises to stop. For the screaming men and women to be silent. For the flames to stop roaring, and my home to stop burning.

I just wanted to be back in the orphanage, where I could be picked on, where everything was normal. Nothing else mattered.

Peeking out of my hiding place, I saw something that remains etched in my memory to this day.

Corpses littered the street like ticker tape after a parade. Countless white lights rained down from the stars, each one slamming into the earth and shooting up fireballs a hundred meters high.

Skyscrapers toppled and fell, sending up enormous clouds of dust and debris. Whatever was left _burned_. Then, I saw her. Weeping and stumbling down the road, Sakura appeared, clutching a charred kyuubi doll. Blood matted her pink hair to her head, and her usual red tunic was torn and shredded. She wasn't looking where she was going.

"Forehead-chan?" Normally, she would bristle at the childish nickname, but with all the chaos, I managed to shock her out of her state.

"Whisker-kun?" The voice came back, squeaky and choked with sobs. I rubbed my eyes clear of blood and dust.

"Whisker-kun, I'm scared!" She wailed, tears spilling down her face.

I gave a rattling cough. It was getting harder and harder to breath. I was scared too, but at least I couldn't see anything back in the dumpster.

"Come in here, it's a little bit safer." I said, voice hoarse from coughing. Needing no further invitation, she dove in while I closed the lid, sealing us away from the madness that was tearing our home apart.

Inside was impenetrable darkness, but we were together, huddled in a cold metal corner.

Sakura had always been a bit of a mystery to me. She had come to the orphanage a year ago, a bundle of pink hair and teary sobs. Like myself, she was much bigger than the other children, and was picked on mercilessly. There was never a lack of tormentors, as war spawned orphans like a corpse spawned maggots. They all made fun of her for her huge forehead, and me for the whisker tattoos on my cheeks. We'd never spoken much, despite our shared plight.

"Are we going to... _die_?" I whispered as loud as I dared.

"I don't know." She said, sniffling.

"Did you see Ay-san?" I asked. Ay-san was everyone's favorite at the orphanage. He was an old veteran that would regale us with old war stories and pop out his prosthetic arm, waving it at us while laughing manically. We'd scream and laugh every time.

"No, I just... ran." She said. "I hope he's okay."

"Me too." After that, we were quiet, accepting each new earth-shattering explosion with silence. We were pouring sweat, and air was running thin in the dumpster. I cracked it open to let in some more. It was breathable, but smelled like burning meat.

"I don't wanna die." I said suddenly.

"Me either." She agreed, clasping my hand in hers. We sat like that for a few hours, holding hands and talking, not daring to go outside. I opened the lid every so often, my younger self not noticing that each time I did, less and less air came in. She told me about her mommy, how good she was at fixing people. How much she loved her mommy, and how much she missed her. I gave her a hug and told her about myself. I didn't have a mommy or a daddy, but I had a Jiji that would come and give me presents for my birthday. All the other adults acted weird around him, even Ay-san. But he was funny and made me smile. When I described him to Sakura, her eyes lit up.

"You mean Sarutobi-sama?" She asked.

"That's his name!" I smiled, even though she couldn't see it.

"No way! He's the one who brought me to the orphanage! He gets me stuff for my birthday too!" Awesome! Despite everything outside our little dumpster-world, it was nice talking to Forehead-chan. I shook my head. _Sakura-chan._ I finally had a best friend! We talked more about Jiji, and other orphanage gossip (as much as four year olds can gossip). We were content to stay in that trash bin forever, but it was not to be.

A deafening _boom_ threw our dumpster into the air.

We were thrown out, screaming and clutching each other as we landed hard on the pavement, ears bleeding and ringing so loud we couldn't hear ourselves think. Everything hurt. Panicked and coughing, we tried to run, but it was so hard to breathe with all the soot, we fell into the road, struggling to draw breath. We would have cried if we weren't so dehydrated.

We were dying, but we were too young to know it.

And then, I heard the squeal of brakes and the roar of a big military truck. A hoarse yell rang out.

"Hey, we found some!"

"Pick 'em up, give 'em air!" I heard. I felt myself being lifted up and thrown onto a hard metal floor, a plastic mask fitting itself over my face. Clear, fresh oxygen flowed into my lungs, making me cough and splutter. Once my coughing fit stopped, I calmed considerably. The air tasted so clean.

Opening my eyes, three imposing forms loomed over me, clad in sheer black gas masks.

"Naruto? Sakura?" The voice was familiar, although twisted with grief and muffled by the mask.

"Ji...ji?" I asked. Sakura, however, recognized the voice more clearly than I did.

"Sarutobi-sama!" She squealed, giving way to a cough.

Looking back, the chances of him finding us in that hellhole were astronomical. I asked Sakura to crunch the numbers once, and she paled at all the zeroes her calculator spat out. I guess things had a way of working out for us that day.

"Jiji?" One of the soldiers asked, turning to him.

I felt the truck speed up again, peeling out and flying down the street. _Rikusho_ Hiruzen Sarutobi gathered us both up in his arms.

"You're alive, you're alive. Thank god." He said.

"Sarutobi-rikusho a jiji? I never would have guessed." One of them joked.

Then, a crushing wave of force knocked us aside, rolling the truck over several times before landing on its wheels again with a lurching sway.

"Ssssshhiiiit!" The driver swore, cranking the ignition until the engine rolled to life again. The windows were cracked, spider webs of glass stained with dirt. Sakura's eyes were full of terror, the kyuubi doll still clutched tightly to her chest. We were shaken up, but alive.

"Holy shit!" One of the men shouted, bleeding from a cut on his shoulder. "Where the _fuck_ is the Fleet?"

"Inbound, if I'd have to guess." Jiji growled.

"And what the _hell_ happened to our Orbital Cannons?"

"I don't _know_! Off-world comms was the first thing they got. All we can do down here is save as many as we can." Another blast sent us into a sickening spin. I would have thrown up if I had anything in my stomach.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" The driver shouted, cranking on the steering wheel to regain control. Jiji gave a cold laugh.

"And pray we don't get hit."

"We can't do that forever!" One of them snapped.

"Neither can they, Asuma. The Fleet can't ignore this forever."

"But dad! Mom-"

"Your mother was not the first one to die tonight." He paused, giving a shuddering, grief-stricken sigh. "And she won't be the last." Turning to Sakura and me, he gave us each a bottle of water with a little plastic straw sticking out of it. Tucking the straws under our masks, we greedily slurped the water, cool liquid soothing our parched and ash-choked throats.

When Sakura was done drinking, she put a tiny hand on Asuma's leg.

"My okaa-san's dead too. I'm sorry you lost yours." The man's headwear masked any kind of reaction. He just wiped the soot off Sakura's face, her skin turning grey to pink again with the swipe of his hand.

"Me too, kid. Me too."

Fifteen minutes later, the explosions stopped for good. Jiji dropped us off at a refugee camp, promising to return for us as soon as he could. Sakura and I cowered from the press of panicked people, doing everything we could to remain out of sight.

We lived in that camp for a month, stealing whatever food and clothes we could. Baths? Unheard of. Privacy? Please. We went to bed hungry, woke up hungry. But while other refugees succumbed to the sicknesses that inevitably swept through, we avoided them with ease. And despite those miserable days, we grew close during that cold and bitter November. Before long, we were calling each other Nii-chan and Nee-chan.

New-found best friend aside, it was tough moving past that day. Some of us still grieve for those who perished. Sasuke's entire family was massacred. He survived by hiding under the corpse of his older brother while his home collapsed around him. Hinata lost her mother. Tenten lost her whole family. Most of the Konoha 12 still have nightmares. A hundred years later, and I still bolt awake in a cold sweat, my dreams full of ash.

When Jiji came to get us a few months later, he took us back to the orphanage. Besides Sakura and I, there were only three other orphans that returned. Five kids out of two thousand. We stayed there in that broken, empty, shell for two more years before he came by again. That was when he took us to the Academy, where were given a choice.

To fulfill our destiny as Warborn and become soldiers of the Hegemony, or go back to the orphanage, receive a regular education, and remain citizens.

We thought to back to that day, the day known as 'The Bombardment of Babel', where planet-wide orbital strikes purged her colonies in flame. The day we cowered helplessly in a dumpster while our home burned and the rebel fleet butchered everyone we knew like cattle.

We chose as one.

* * *

**_gunso_ = sergeant (for those that are unaware)**

**A/N: So yeah, I significantly changed the background of Naruto and Sakura's relationship. Why? Because as it stands, their canon relationship is a little boring, and done to death. So here's something a little new (but also has been done before... probably). I also really dig the way it lets them interact.**

**As to why I like this one so much, the Bombardment of Babel has a lot to do with it. The imagery in my head was particularly powerful, and I hope I captured some of it here.**

**What do you think? Let me know!**


	4. Interlude II

**A/N: Here's what is probably the longest and most lore-informative interlude I have. I hope you guys enjoy it! **

**By the way, I know this isn't what hacking looks like. I wanted to simulate the feel, and it's more fun to read this way. In the end, isn't that what's most important? Here's a key to decipher what's going on.**

**Bold = Computer display**

Regular = Manual entries

**Review Responses:**

**MYK-ON: Don't worry your pretty little head. All in good time!**

**Guest: You'll find out soon enough.**

**I don't own anything that comes from Naruto. I own the rest.**

* * *

Interlude 2

**WELCOME BACK.**

fileaccess/2545/10/21

**ACCESSING…**

**ACCESSING…**

**WARNING! THIS DATA IS ENRYPTED VIA JERICHO ENCYRP. SYS++**

override/uzumakitaicho/C:wof

**ACCEPTED USER LOGIN!**

**ACCESSING DATA…**

**ACCESSING DATA…**

**325 FILES FOUND.**

sort=babel

**322 FILES FOUND.**

**WAITING FOR INPUT…**

sort=sarutobi

**1 FILE FOUND.**

**ACCESSING…**

**ACCESSING…**

**ERROR! ACCESS NOT AUTHORIZED. OVERRIDING…**

**ERROR! RECOVERY NOT COMPLETE! DATA IS FRAGMENTED!**

**ATTEMPTING TO SALVAGE DATA…**

**SALVAGING DATA…**

**DONE!**

* * *

Restricted File Mu-Alpha-Beta, Clea**[ERROR!]**vel: Ginsho.

-Document #B0451

Report on the Bombardment of Babel

Compiled By: **[REDACTED]**, **[REDACTED]**, and** $%##**en Sarutobi, Rikusho.

The attack commenced at approximately 0600 hours, GST, and consisted of a full rebel fleet. The vessels we could identify include the Alliance flagship AN-_Samehada_, (captained by Admiral Kisame Hoshigaki), and its three accompanying battleships, AN-_Raised In Righteous Fury,_ AN_-Deference to God, _and the AN-_Bloodletter_. These vessels were flanked by two Bradley-class carriers and eight destroyers.

Our orbital guns did not respond to their sudden arrival, due to the interference of Orochimaru **[ERROR! INCORRECT CHECKSUM VALUE!]**, who sabotaged the guns a mere eight minutes before the fleet's arrival via warp. He has since been taken into custody, where he has remained since.

At 0642, the Rebel Fleet ignored the HS vessels that harried them, instead shelling Babel with over six thousand tons of HE magno-sabot rail rifle slugs, m**&amp;%#**ly targeting the cities of Konoha, Itokan-Jo, and Willimsborough.

The total number of casualties might never be fully ascertained. Bodies continue to be discovered, and conservative es***# $&amp;**s put the death toll at around sixty-six million. This number is not accounting for those who might die in the resulting famines, or diseases that run rampant in the refugee camps. Across the planet, wild fires rage uncontrollably.

One of the first and finest of Mother Earth's colonies has been laid to utter waste. With significant investment, she might return to her former glory, but early, generous estimates place a moderate recovery at the latter half of the decade.

It is yet unclear what provoked this unprecedented attack, or why the rebels targeted civilians.

When the Hegemony's Sixth Fleet arrived, the rebels departed in haste, warping to an unknown vector. The AN-_Samehada _sustained minor damage, and the AN-_Bloodletter_ was destroyed by Rear Admiral Jiraya Gōketsu and his battleship, the HSN-_Gamabunta_. EVA crews comb the wreckage for any information regarding the attack, but nothing has been found as of yet. Alliance survivors have been few in number. They are currently being interrogated.

Enclosed is a further encrypted, personal document regarding the subject of Mu-Nu 01-Alpha, Codename** [ERROR! INCORRECT CHECKSUM VALUE!]**, and other classified matters.

* * *

override/ Uzumakitaicho/C:wof

**ACCESS DENIED! ATTEMPT 1 OF 2 **

**READ PROMPT VALUE MET.**

**DISPLAYING PROGRAMMED MESSAGE…**

**FUCK OFF, BRAT.**

override/executive/C:wof/+Dan+/

**ACCEPTED VALUE. OPENENING YOUR FILE, TSUNADE-SAMA.**

**DECRYPTING…**

**DECRYPTING…**

**RUNTIME COMPLETED. ACCESSING ATTACHMENT.**

**PREPARING FILES**

**DONE.**

* * *

Subject Adam has been salvaged, as well as Subjects V-84 through V-90. No word on the others yet. The survivors are taking it very well, but I'm watching them closely.

The Uchiha clan has been wiped out. Only the littlest one, V-86, remains. Four other Uchiha survived, as they were on-duty and off-planet at the time of the strike.

I lost my wife and one of my sons tonight. I don't know what the purpose of this attack was, but I won't rest until I find some answers.

Or enough rebel corpses to stand in for answers.

The official channels are on fire right now, so if this message arrives a few days late, please forgive me. You were always my brightest student.

Please, respond as soon as you can.

-The Monkey King

* * *

logoff

**ACCEPTED. GOOD-BYE, TSUNADE-SAMA**

* * *

**A/N: How's that for a trauma conga line? The Uchiha clan massacre, Orochimaru's Betrayal, millions dead, and horrid recurring nightmares for a lifetime! :D Also, to put the Bombardment into perspective, the same amount of people died in _WORLD WAR 2_. I just now noticed this. I guess sci-fi writers _do_ have issues with scale...**

****And yes, this fic is labeled romance for a reason. Patience, friends.****

****Thanks for all the support thus far, by the way. You guys are awesome! Makes my day whenever I see a new review! :)****

**Anyway, back to Erebus tomorrow!**


	5. Painting the Town Redder

**A/N: And we're back in Erebus! A quaint little town in the galactic backwaters, where fun, smiles and rainbows are all around! :D**

**Review Replies: **

**MYK-ON: Interesting is the goal! :D**

**Guest: Still not telling. I'll let the chapters speak for themselves!**

**Chapter 3, everyone!**

**Cover image by u/BendyWend**

**Disclamer: This is an original story that was adapted into a Naruto fanfiction. Everything that has to do with Naruto is not mine, where everything that does not, is.**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Painting the Town Redder**

"No sense getting nostalgic." I said, shaking Sakura out of her funk. "We're doing a planetary assault, not wholesale bombardment. Those kids have a better chance than we ever did."

"They're not warborn, Nii-chan. We've been built to survive since we were _zygotes_. They didn't have that luxury." She had that line in her face, the one that dug itself deep between her eyebrows, the one that hid the green diamond tattoo she bore. A line of worry.

We kept walking down the ruined streets of Erebus, sticking to the shadows as best as we could. At the end of the street, Sasuke pointed out some fleeing civilians. They sprinted past us, not caring where they went or who they passed. When we turned the corner, I took a sharp breath. The remains of a pod lie in the street, burnt black by atmospheric entry.

Running over to it, we inspected the pieces. The thickest part had a huge hole in it, pierced by the flak that had welcomed us to this horrid city.

"This is Fireteam Eight's." I said, remembering Kiba's colorful comments about their descent.

"Do you think they're nearby?" Sakura asked, eyes flickering over the street, on the watch for sudden movement.

"Hn." Sasuke said.

"How profound, _teme_." I grinned. "Now let's find 'em and give 'em a hand, huh?" Sakura smiled too, readying her Hellhound.

"Let's get on the rooftops. We can see better up there." I said, pointing at a fire escape.

"And be targets?"

"For all the rebel aircraft?" I countered, waving my arm to the sky to show him exactly how many fliers they had (hint: the answer was zero).

"I swear, whoever promoted you must have been high."

"For once, we agree."

"We'll, you've never been right before, so that's hardly surprising." Sakura, who had been turning a deeper shade of red during our whole exchange, finally exploded.

"Enough!" She hissed, grabbing Sasuke's shoulder pauldron and hauling him to the fire escape. His red eyes went wide. He knew resistance was futile. She didn't look back, knowing I'd follow. Uchiha arrogance forgotten, Sasuke silently pleaded with me, knowing I was the only one who could calm her down. I flipped him off instead.

"Now c_limb_." She growled. He obeyed. It was hard to argue with someone whose shoulders were as tall as your head. "You too." She said, losing none of her rancor. I jumped up the ladder, no ifs, ands or buts.

"We fucked up, Sasuke." I whispered. I might have heard a 'hn', but I was climbing too fast to tell for sure.

"Faster! No talking!" Sakura said.

"You got it, Sakura-chan!" I said with a nervous laugh. Despite all the horror that surrounded us, this was kinda fun. It felt like our Academy days. In the distance, a faint horn jarred me out of my reverie. I threw a hand up, stopping my friends with the signal to halt. Antics forgotten, our focus returned to the task at hand.

"Hear that?" They paused. Sasuke prepared a few choice words when the sound didn't repeat itself, but Sakura hushed him up.

Then, it sounded again, a low wail that echoed throughout Erebus. It was getting closer. We huddled down on the edge of the roof, waiting for it to pass us. The deep growl of a diesel engine came next, a guttural gurgling. It crested a hill and flew into the air before crashing down with the scraping of metal against the pavement.

It was a military vehicle, reservists by the looks of it. A small auto cannon protruded from plate metal armor. A Landsknecht. Its horn blared again, shattering the still of the dying city. A civilian vehicle veered to avoid it, screeching to a stop on the abandoned curb.

"What's his hurry?" I said, looking at Sakura.

"If I had to guess," she said, smiling, "Fireteam Eight." We paused for a second before sprinting after it, running along the spire wreckage that linked the pre-fab rooftops.

Sasuke was in the lead, watching the car with his Sharingan. We were only able to keep up because we could cut corners, while the car had to make its way through the cluttered streets below.

After about six minutes of sprinting, jumping, and more sprinting, Sasuke pointed out where the vehicle was headed: a convenience store that lay in the middle of a forked road, the front swarming with Rebel regulars. Too far away to tell exactly how many.

"I think we found them." He said, panting. We were fairly winded after trying to keep up with a car for three or four klicks. Even Sakura was breathing heavy under all of her gear.

"What's going on up there?" I asked him.

"We got..." he sucked in a breath."About two platoons of soldiers." The armored car came to a stop before the cordon.

We moved closer, careful not to alert the men below us. A man in a black uniform and red beret poked out of a reinforced window. He looked angry, according to the wild hand gestures he was making.

"Sasuke?"

"Already on it." He said, resting his weapon on an air duct that protruded from the roof. Bringing his eye to the sights, he settled into a marksman's stance. His chest inflated, stilling his beating heart and slowing his pumping lungs. His finger closed around the trigger. No haste, no wasted movement. Slowly, he squeezed the trigger.

The man's head exploded, raining blood and brains on the men gathered around him. The corpse flew against the window frame. Blood poured out from the neck, hosing the sandy asphalt below. Sasuke's rifle spat the casing out, another cartridge ramming itself in place with a metallic _clink_.

The soldiers were screaming and flailing around, confused and disorganized. That's why officers went down first.

"One." Sasuke said. He pulled the trigger again. A man that was running for cover kicked up in the air with a spray of blood, collapsing against some sandbags. "Two." Another casing rang as it fell on the air duct. A third shot. "Three." _Bang, clink_. "Four." _Bang, clink_. "Five."

After the seventh fell, the rebels realized that someone was hunting them. No longer focusing on their cordon, they scanned the streets for their attacker.

"Sasuke, hold 'em down. We'll move up and engage!"

"Acknowledged." He said, all business. "Eight. Reloading!" He said, ejecting his magazine and slamming a new one home in the same second. _Click, ssshink, clack_.

Sakura and I moved forward. We could hit them at this range no problem, but the range wasn't the issue, our firing angles were. We couldn't see all of the rebel soldiers, and I doubted Fireteam Eight could hit them all from their hiding places.

"Be careful," I told Sakura as we vaulted over an alleyway, "Eight's in there, so don't go hog wild with that LMG of yours." Turning to me, she jostled my shoulder, which was probably meant to be friendly, but ended up rattling me like a maraca.

"Naruto, I know. I understand you're worried about your first mission, but it'll be okay. Trust me." I smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of my head.

"You got it, Sakura-chan." They found us. A bullet whizzed past my ear, striking Sakura's helmet and sending out a spray of metal. No blood, thank God. She fell to the floor, reflexively throwing a hand out to catch her fall. With a grunt of pain, she tore the ruined helmet off, revealing her brilliant pink hair. Normally tied up in sensible bun, it fell to her shoulders, wild and sweat-stained.

Bullets whizzed and hissed around us, chipping away at the roof, and what little cover we had. From the sound, there had to be at least thirty of them shooting at us. Most soldiers would cower and hide at this point, but I think I've made it obvious we weren't normal soldiers.

"Sakura!" I yelled over the storm of lead. "Keep 'em down!"

"Bastards!" She shouted, pulling the bipod out on her Hellhound. Diving down, she returned fire, spent casings spinning out of her gun at five hundred rounds per minute. "SHANAROOOOOOOOOO!" She screamed, her finger lifting off the trigger only to adjust her aim. If she wasn't careful, the recoil wound distort her aim, and she'd hit our friend's hiding place.

A few stray bullets sunk into the roof, spitting chunks of plastic roofing and red sand into the air. A _clickclickclickclickclick_ sounded from the LMG, which poured smoke from one of its barrels.

She ripped it out, red-hot from sustained fire. She locked a new one in before racking another drum of ammo into place. Rifle fire erupted from the convenience store, sudden and explosive. Fireteam Eight had joined the fight. Caught in the crossfire, the rebels dashed into better cover to avoid being decimated. Sakura squeezed off more controlled bursts, locking the rebels down.

I let a few rounds fly, the M-34 kicking against my shoulder. I hit one of them when he leaned out of cover, the first round jerking him off his feet, the second one piercing his heart.

The Landsknecht lit up the store, blowing holes in the cheap plastic walls with its .50 caliber autocannon. Each blast sprayed dirt into the air, and left gaping holes in Eight's hiding place._  
_

"Shit! They're gonna get torn up in there!" The worry line creased Sakura's face. An idea came to me. It was insane, but it was workable. "Throw me!"

"What?"

"Throw me! We can't jump to the next set of roofs, and I need to be closer!" We'd spent too many hours training together, I knew she was reading my mind.

"You're gonna get killed!"

"If I don't jump, they will too! Sasuke!" I yelled, turning back towards him. "Cover me! I'm going over!" He complied, adding to the squall of small-arms fire.

"Naruto this is a horrible idea, I can't-" I wasn't listening. Securing my rifle, I got ready for my jump. This was going to happen whether she wanted it to or not. Knowing I wasn't going to be swayed, Sakura knelt down near the edge of the roof, hands clasped together.

Tracers flicked past, white lances that raced into the sky. Too close. _It doesn't matter_, I thought. _Doesn't matter_. I thought, building up speed. Reaching Sakura, I threw a foot into her hands, and she pushed as hard as she could, while I jumped with all my might.

I flew. Wind slapped at my face before I managed to catch some rusted railing, hanging by my fingertips.

Three bullets ripped into me, each one tearing through nerve and muscle like tissue paper. I screamed, but managed to hold on, pulling myself to relative safety. Holy _shit_. As someone who had spent most of their life unable to feel severe pain, this was a new and awful experience.

"NARUTO!"

"I'm fine!" I shouted back, my kekkai genkai already shutting down the fiery agony that coursed through my body. Bleeding from my legs and stomach, I continued onto the next building, albeit at a slower pace. My left leg trailed behind my right. It didn't hurt too bad. Just felt _heavy_.

With an ear-splitting war-cry, I heard Sakura open up again, tracers spinning off the armored car. They wouldn't do any major damage, but she probably hoped it would turn its attention off Fireteam Eight. It was a good idea, but I paled at the idea of that auto cannon pointing at Sakura.

Hurrying myself, I skipped over the roofs before I came to one within throwing distance of my target. Tearing a thermite grenade off my tactical webbing, I primed it before throwing it as hard as I could. It sailed through the air before landing besides the Landsknecht. With a spark and a red flash, it ignited, devouring the vehicle in a spray of sparks and flames. Panicking, the crew bailed out. They didn't make it more than a meter before they were slammed into the ground by a hail of rounds, blood spraying up the store walls.

Sinking back into cover, I let the others mop up the rest of the rebels. I felt weak.

"Clear!" Sasuke shouted. It was hard to hear him.

"Clear!" Sakura acknowledged.

The street was still again, the red sand that covered the roads now soaking up the blood of a full rebel platoon. I made my way down the stairs that led to the roof. A locked door waited below. I smashed it open with my good leg, finding an abandoned apartment. Every single cupboard was empty, and dried blood ran dark streaks over the cracked and filthy tile. This whole city was turning to shit. Walking to the exit (leaving a spreading trail of blood), I saw a lanyard hanging from a coat rack, heavy with keys.

A series of thoughts flashed through my head. One of them is that the rebels would only send more troops here in a matter of minutes, rendering my hard work useless. Another was that the rendezvous was too far to walk to, as shot up as I was. Another was that my luck seemed endless today.

When I came out into the street, Sakura and Sasuke were waiting, unable to disguise their worry. Fireteam Eight burst out of the store, running at us at full speed. Shino was in the lead. He didn't look too worried, but then again, he never looked anything other than perfectly calm. Kiba was next, a rocket launcher slung over his broad shoulders. Red tattoos spilled down his cheeks like tears, coming to a point before his neck. Hinata was last; her lavender synthetic eyes open wide in shock.

"Naruto-kun!" She screamed, seeing my wounds. Hinata Hyuuga was a special case, in that I knew all of my squad mates like siblings, but I could never talk to her for very long. She'd do this weird stuttering thing, followed by her cheeks flushing a stunning scarlet. It was cute, sure, but it made conversation a little difficult.

"I'll live, I'll live." I said, not able to stand that look of panic she wore. I didn't know if I was lying to her or not, but those tears forming in the corners of her pale eyes had to go. "I got us a ride." I said to the others, throwing the keys to Shino.

"You really are the galaxy's biggest _dobe_." Sasuke said, cradling his face in one his hands.

"Wh-what I'd do?" I said, finding my breaths were taking a little more effort than usual.

"There's no cars on the street." Sakura said, starting to rip off my armor. "But it was a good idea. We can take that Landsknecht! You did miss that throw after all! Silly Nii-chan!" Her voice was breaking.

Black tendrils of sleep ate my visions. I didn't hurt too bad anymore, but I knew consciousness wouldn't stay with me much longer. Sakura threw her gun at Sasuke, who took it without so much as a 'hn'. She scooped me off my feet, and sprinted over to the car. Ripping a corpse out of the window frame hard enough to send it tumbling down the street, she opened the door and laid me down.

Sasuke threw his equipment in the back before jumping into the driver's street. The others piled in too, Shino taking shotgun while Hinata, Sakura and Kiba kept me company in the back.

Hinata took my hand, squeezing it as tight as she could.

"C-come on Naruto-kun, stay with us!" I nodded weakly. I had failed miserably. Tears spilled down her face, rivers of salt that cascaded onto my fatigues.

I felt med-foam fill my legs, a cool rush of relief that ate away at the dull red ache.

"Sakura, is he… gonna make it?" Kiba whispered. Hinata squeezed my hand even tighter. Sakura let out a relieved breath.

"The two in his leg passed through. The one in his stomach… ah, _shit_. It's still there." I lost consciousness then, finally giving up, ready to accept whatever came next.

* * *

When I woke up, the sky had disappeared. In its place was blackness. Then, it was Nee-chan, her pink hair and tear-stained face filling my vision.

"Nii-chan!" She yelled; face splitting wide into a pure, white smile. She hugged me, careful not to squeeze too hard.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata warbled, voice overcome with relief. She was sitting next to me as well, knees folded beneath her. And she was still holding my hand.

"Save some girls for the rest of us, huh?" Kiba said, sitting with his rifle resting on his shoulder.

"Kiba, you keep quiet!" Ino said, warming a MRE over a tiny standard-issue gas burner, her SMG resting in her lap. Taking a proper look around, I saw Ino's pitiful fire flickering in the center of the cavern, revealing a colorful canvas of graffiti that covered almost every inch of the walls. Rusted turnstiles hung loosely from their posts, having counted their last tickets long ago. Empty rail cars sat still, dust gathering on their leather seats.

We were at the rendezvous point, Metro Transit Station 135. Intel reported it had been abandoned long ago after a tunnel collapse, making it the perfect base of operations. It was forgotten, out-of-the-way, and spacious enough to accommodate almost four times our number.

"Hey, I got shot too!" He whined, pointing at some bandages wrapped around his arm.

"You got grazed, asshole!" Sakura turned to shout. "It barely even broke your skin!"

"Hmph. Naruto-gunso doesn't even _feel_ pain." He pouted, crossing his arms in annoyance.

"You're all troublesome." Shikamaru said, sitting against the wall, a flimsy cigarette in hand. He took a drag. With a deep sigh, he let smoke out, watching it spill out of his mouth and rise to the ceiling. "Of course Naruto got hit. Just makes our jobs even tougher. Figures."

"I'm alright now." I said, sitting up.

"Naruto!" Sakura cried, trying to push me back down. "Lay down!" I waved her off. My leg and torso ached, but I was good to move again.

"I'm alright, Sakura, really! I rubbed my eyes. "How long was I out?" She sighed.

"About six hours." Damn. Too much time lost.

"Where's Fireteam Nine?"

"Reconnaissance with Sasuke and Chouji. They should be back in an hour."

"Shizu-chan?" She shook her head.

"Comms are good on the ground, but anything orbital is too garbled. They're jamming us."

Fuck. We were well and truly on our own down here.

I looked down at my wounds. My armor was missing, leaving me in my navy-blue fatigues (wrapped in bandages) and my favorite orange tank top (the lower half of which was soaked in blood).

"What happened to me?" I asked her. She nodded to Hinata, who squeezed my hand again before going to join Ino at the fire. I had a feeling her attention remained here, however.

"You took two through your left leg, and one in your gut. Your armor took the brunt of it, so it wasn't too deep. I had to dig it out myself." She said, offering me the offending piece of metal in a blood-stained hand.

I took it from her, turning it over. I wondered where it came from. I knew there weren't any arms manufacturing plants on Quiet Dunes, which meant it had been shipped from light years away, just so some asshole with a ratty Kalashnikov could put it in my gut. An awfully long journey for such a small piece of pain. Sakura eyed me, eyes watery.

"I told you not to do it." She said, not looking at me.

"I know-"

"There were better ways of doing that, all of which didn't include you making a suicide run!" She snapped suddenly.

"I did what I had to!" I replied, anger rising.

"You did the first thing that came to mind! Did you stop to think how I would feel if you threw your life away like that? What all of us would feel?!"

I looked at my squad, pleading for someone to back me up. When I locked eyes with Shikamaru (the Kosenjobi's other resident genius), he laughed a dark laugh before flicking some ash on the ground.

"You're on your own, _Gunso_." When I turned to face Hinata, her face went red again, but she didn't say anything.

"I saved you guys!" I shouted.

"What are you, stupid?" Ino said, eyes lighting up. "They were fine. The car was far too close to hit them all." Kiba nodded vigorously.

"Yeah, what she said."

"Naruto..." Sakura pleaded, her eyes wide with worry. "Please... promise me you'll never risk yourself like that again." I paused.

"Y-yeah. Okay, Sakura-chan." I said, trying to mean it.

"If you were to die, we would become disorganized. A headless serpent instead of a fighting unit." Shino said, finally chipping in. "I don't think any of us could adequately perform your role." He continued, quieter.

Looking around, no one denied his words.

Well shit. Maybe I _was_ out of line today.

"Aw _hell_, you guys are too nice." A few chuckles. Ino cracked a smile too, before gulping down a big helping of bell peppers and beef.

Kakashi-sensei was a right bastard for promoting me, but seeing those smiles and Hinata's blushing face, it all seemed worth it.

* * *

**A/N: Yay! The Konoha 12 reunite!**

**And for those who noticed that the rebels use Kalishnakovs, know that no, they're not AK-47's. 'Cause that's ridiculous. It's a much later model with similar characteristics. I considered putting some more info on the matter in the actual story, but it broke the chpater's flow and wasn't interesting enough to warrant that.**

**So yeah.**

**You guys liking the story so far? Let me know! Suggestions/comments/predictions are still appreciated, even though the story is completed. :)**


	6. Interlude III

**A/N: Time for another interlude! Today is a little background on what the Marines actually _do_.**

**Review Replies:**

**MYK-ON: Yes, Naruto is always the same, whether he's a ninja or a sci-fi space marine. :3**

**Disclaimer: Besides one name in this chapter, I own everything here.**

* * *

Interlude 3

**Excerpt from _Unification: An In-Depth Analysis And History_ by Dr. Duncan. S. Thompson of Olympus University, Dr. Yiang Xu of Olympus University and Dr. Naota Haruno of Oxford University. _Chapter 7.3: Armed Forces of The Hegemony: Section 3 – The Marine Cadre_**

Numbering at two and a half billion active members, the Marine Cadre was the smallest of the three main branches of the Hegemony's armed forces, but by no means the least important. A multifaceted and highly mobile infantry, the Marines performed varied combat roles, functioning as shock troopers, and assault support. They also had a heavy hand in clandestine operations and unconventional warfare during Unification. When fighting in conjunction with the other branches, Marines most often spearheaded invasions with the Planetary Forces, and provided EVA support during Naval engagements.

While they (like their ancient American progenitors) are originally based in Naval operations, their role expanded greatly during the war. Hundreds of planets and moons that were held by the Allied Systems were either not large enough to warrant a bombardment or full-scale invasion. This is where the Marines were often utilized. Deployed from smaller, stealthier fleets, they were able to re-conquer lost territory without significant expenditure. They hold the distinction of the most reclaimed territory over the course of the war, liberating millions of civilians that would have otherwise been left forgotten.

Their reputation among enemy Alliance soldiers grew significantly over the course of the war, from being indistinguishable from Planetary Forces, to terrifying, black-clad angels of death, raised from birth to kill and maim. This belief was no doubt enhanced by the unconventional warfare operations often assigned to the Corps, and the unfortunate massacre on Illsbram, perpetrated by the 31st Marine Reconnaissance Division. It is a brutal reputation, but one they employ, championing themselves as the toughest, meanest, and most uncompromising soldiers the Hegemony has to offer.

Later in this section, we will discuss their origins, diverse recruitment policy, as well as their effect on society during the war.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter was basically explaining the branch of military that Naruto and his buddies serve under. They are analogous to the United States Marine Corps in many respects, but are different in several others.**

**The massacre mentioned in here is strictly a piece of original 'history-writing'. It is not meant to represent any actions of anyone or anything. Period. It's science fiction, you guys. Sheesh.**


	7. In the Palm of My Hand I Hold Their Life

**A/N: I apologize for the slower pace in this chapter. A lot of things require set up.**

**Review Replies:**

**MYK-ON: Glad you like all this stuff! The real meat of the story is starting up now too. :3**

**Cover image by: u/BendyWend**

**Disclaimer: I own this stuff, except for the Naruto-related parts.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: In the Palm of My Hand I Hold Their Lives**

I told my pink-haired nurse to rest. I wasn't in danger any more, and it wouldn't be more than a day before I was good to go. Plus, there was no way Sakura had slept, and all of this stress was bad news for someone who did so much for the squad. Closing my eyes, I thought back to the day Kakashi-sensei promoted me.

* * *

"You're joking." He was silent. Please tell me you're joking." He shook his head. His Sharingan pierced me, analyzing my reaction.

"Here's your new patch. And here's some paperwork you need to fill out." I was secretly delighted, despite the billion reservations that screamed in my head. It had always been my dream to be a general like Jiji, and being _Gunso_ was a step in the right direction.

But the press of responsibility started to weigh against my mind. I'd be leading my friends that I grew up with, trained with. Their lives were under my control, to do with as I saw fit.

I sat down hard.

"There's no one else?"

"Nope."

"No one?" He paused, pretending to think about it.

"Nope."

"Not even _teme_?"

"Despite his sheer proficiency, he is too cold and distant. Prefers to work alone, and has a questionable psychiatric history regarding the death of his family." Kakashi recited. I knew it was from a report some underling gave him.

"Sakura-chan?"

"Reports indicate that she would be unsuitable for the role. She might be one of the most capable of you idiots, but her psychological profile does not lean itself towards leadership."

"Neji?"

"Questionable personal philosophy. Believes fate is a reasonable explanation for the direction of his life. You know how the Cadre feels about that."

"Fate is the invention of lesser beings too weak to live for themselves." I recited. I was shocked the oft-repeated phrase hadn't been effectively drilled into Neji yet.

"Shino?" His spiky grey hair shook again.

"Like Sasuke, tends to be a loner. He's intelligent, sure, but slow to speak his mind. Communication might be a serious issue."

"Lee?" I asked, shuddering at the thought.

"General… eccentricity aside, I was legitimately concerned he might force the squad to train during active missions." I snorted.

"Shikamaru then, definitely. He's not that lazy, is he?"

"You underestimated him. Plus, his grades were even worse than yours, even though we all know it was a lack of effort on his part." There was a pause.

"Kiba?" We shared a laugh, before I took a deep breath, wiping a tear away from my eye. I sobered again, remembering the position I was in.

"There's...really is no one else...is there?" He shook his head, smiling with his eyes, since his mouth was covered in a perpetual facemask.

"They're all yours, Naruto." He put a hand on my shoulder. "And you deserve them. You're a good kid. A good Marine. They need someone who cares about them. They need _you_." His words filled me with pride. Kakashi wasn't one to praise lightly (when he deigned to praise at all).

"Thanks Kakashi-sensei!" I was happy then, and again when my squad (_my_ squad!) congratulated me. But that night, looking up at the bare barracks ceiling, sleep eluded me. I had been given an enormous responsibility. The lives of my comrades.

It was then I couldn't help but remember most warborn didn't make it past thirty.

* * *

Back from my brief reverie, I shook my head with a small smile. Kakashi-sensei was somewhere in this infernal city too, slinking around just like us. Truth be told, I missed him and Jiraya-sama, slave drivers though they were.

They both pushed us so hard to do better, to be better. At the end of each day we trained with them, I always felt stronger than the day before. Sure getting smoked nearly every day for six years kind of sucked, but it sure as well worked. Oh, and the terabytes of porn they had between them. Finding all that was an interesting day for the Konoha 12, I'll tell you that much. And they weren't demonic, like… like _Anko-sensei_.

A loud snore rumbled behind me. Sakura had crashed, falling asleep in her armor under a camouflaged field blanket. Amusingly, it was not built for someone of her size, and her feet poked out from underneath.

I stood and stretched. Feeling a small burn in my stomach, I checked the bandages that wrapped my torso. No blood, thankfully. Sakura knew her stuff. No doubt my muscles were hard at work stitching themselves back together with the help of some of her medical wizardry.

What was the rest of the Konoha 12 up to? Looking around, I found that Shikamaru had fallen asleep as well, more out of laziness than actual exhaustion. Ino gnashed her teeth on a k-bar, an iron ingot that Rationing and Supply tried to pass off as chocolate. Kiba and Shino were playing Go on a data slate. One look at Kiba's face was all I needed to know how bad he was losing. A war raged above our heads, but since we'd been trained to deal with such things for most of our lives, it wasn't much more than a change of background noise.

Hinata sat by the entrance, field stripping and cleaning her Type-72 Marksman's rifle (the same one Sasuke used). Another rifle lay against her seat, primed and ready to go. She was on watch duty. A good decision to put her there, considering her cybernetic byakugan and associated gen-mod allowed her to see heat signatures, infrared, as well as possessing a zoom function. I decided to keep her company for a little bit.

"Ho, Hinata-chan." Not looking up from her cleaning, she gave me a big smile.

"H-have a seat, Naruto-kun."

"Will do." I sat down on an ancient bench, the plastic bending under my weight. She didn't stop her work, but she turned to look at me. She wasn't wearing her chest plate or pauldrons. Instead, they were stacked into a neat pile beside her, crowned with a helmet. Cleaning was dirty work, and she apparently preferred to do it in her fiber-mesh shirt. On her right shoulder was a circuit-board tattoo that rippled over lean muscle, stretching all the way from her elbow to her neck.

"Forgive me, but... you shouldn't be up and about so soon." I laughed, rubbing the back of my head.

"What, you want me to miss out on the entire mission?" She giggled a bit, dipping her cleaning rag into some oil.

"No, but you mean a lot to us. A lot to me." She faltered a bit, realizing what she said. "A-a-anyway we don't want anything to happen to you." I felt my face heat up considerably. She said I meant a lot to her? Why would she single herself out? More importantly, why did she think that way? Of all the Konoha 12, I spoke with her the least, trained with her the least. Mostly, I'd just seen her from afar, driving herself almost as hard as Lee. And that one day we had leave, she wore that white sundress-

"Naruto-kun?" She had caught me riding the train to la-la land, and pulled me back. I waved my hand, dismissing her concern.

"I-I'll be alright. Med-foam will have me up and running in no time." I paused. "Did you hold my hand the entire six hours?"

Her fist clenched suddenly, rag bunched up in her grease-stained fingers.

"I... uh...um..."

"I'm not complaining! I'm just... uh. Curious."

"Well... ah-" I heard the rasp of tires sliding against a dirty road, and the protesting squeal of brakes.

Hinata snapped up her spare rifle, while I drew my pistol from its holster. The doors above ground were thrown open with a creaking groan. A shout rang down the stairs.

"_Tadaima_!" It was unmistakably Neji. He had a way of speaking that made him sound calm even when he was shouting at the top of his lungs.

"_Okari_." Hinata called back, lowering her rifle. I did the same. After a few seconds of trampling boots, they appeared at the bottom of the stairs. They were dirt-stained and bloodied, but alive and ecstatic. Neji was the first one down, synthetic eyes flicking between his cousin and myself. Unlike his Hyuuga relative, he preferred using his byakugan for close quarters combat, and carried a semi-automatic 'Ripper' R-11 Shotgun, which -true to its name- could rip damn near anything to shreds.

"Report, Neji!" He snapped a salute. The rest of my comrades didn't care too much for shows of respect between ranks (we prioritized effectiveness over professionalism), but Neji was the exception to a lot of things. Hinata covered her amused smile with a hand. I suppressed my own urge to laugh. He took everything so seriously!

"Right away, Uzumaki-gunso!" If I recall, he was still a little upset over being passed over for promotion, but it didn't stop him from addressing me with my full title. I shifted on my feet a little. The name Uzumaki-gunso always felt weird to me -especially when uttered by one of my friends.

"First and foremost, we engaged several patrols of rebel regulars. They were killed to a man. During the first of which, Tenten," he nodded at the smallest of the Kosenjobi, "suffered shrapnel wounds from a grenade. Her helmet caught the most of it. The bandages make it seem worse than it is." He said. Like Shino, he kept his voice even, but relief exuded from his last statement. With a big, toothy smile, Tenten flashed me a 'peace' sign, bandages wrapping around the left side of her face and under her ruined helmet.

"During the second engagement, we encountered another squad of Marines." The rest of the Konoha 12 had gathered behind me to listen to Neji's news.

"They helped us mop up, but they were needed elsewhere. After that, we decided to continue our original objective: to locate and destroy the comms jammer." His eyes closed for a second. "We were partially successful." A ripple of excitement wormed its silent way though my squad, "We found it, but it was too heavily guarded to assault with my reconnaissance squad." I brought my hand to my chin, thinking.

"You took pictures?" I asked. He allowed himself a smug smile.

"Of course." Tapping some buttons on his data slate, he sent me some pictures he had taken with his byakugan. Nifty pair of eyes, they were. From what I could see, it was under heavy guard, and locked deep within a walled compound. I gave a low whistle. Two tanks sat steadfast between machine gun bunkers. Guard towers watched over the place, sporting huge spotlights, and were flanked by even more MGs.

"Anything aerial?"

"Six more over." Flicking through the pictures, I got a better view of the jamming station. A plan started forming in my head.

"These were taken from an apartment building about two klicks away."

"What are the chances of calling in some support?" I asked.

"Low." Neji said. "We only got in touch with that one squad from Kumo, and that was in passing. _Before_ we found the jammer."

"It's likely we're the only ones who know where the jammer is." Sasuke added.

We could take it down. It wouldn't be easy, but it would make our lives a hell of a lot better if we did. Chances were we'd blow through our ammo in the next three days, and without that, we'd be walking corpses. Not to mention a lack of orders, communication, enemy troop movements, etc.

"Tenten," I said, addressing my wounded comrade, "can you fight?"

She unwrapped her bandages in response. Neji took a step forward to stop her, but hesitated. Her face was flecked with tiny wounds that drizzled thin trails of blood down her face. She gave me a small smile.

"Just a flesh wound, _Gunso_." I nodded Sakura forward. She dabbed some med-foam on the cuts.

"Alright. Since we're all good to go, we'll be assaulting their jamming station."

"We will." Sakura said, wiping excess foam off Tenten before turning to glare at me. "You'll stay behind." I was about to retort when the rest of the squad piped up.

"Yeah, you'd probably be better directing the whole thing from that apartment building."

"You're too wounded to be of any _real_ use." Kiba added helpfully, a wolfish grin almost reaching his ears.

"You're outvoted, _dobe_." Sasuke said, smiling a rare smile.

"I don't remember this squad being a democracy." I said, huffing.

"I don't remember you enforcing an autocracy." Sakura countered.

"Rrrg, fine!" I admitted defeat. Hinata stepped forward.

"I will accompany Naruto-gunso. I can get a good firing position from there."

"You guys don't even know what I have planned!" I said. Not that I minded being paired up with Hinata...

"Enlighten us then, _O Gifted One_." Sasuke said, voice dripping with sarcastic venom. I turned to him with a vicious grin.

"Oh my god." I paused for dramatic effect. "You're still bitter that I beat you in Assault Tactics." My squad laughed, a happy ringing that echoed throughout Station 135. It brought an even bigger smile to my face.

Sakura tapped me on the back of the head. Guess she hadn't completely outgrown her 'Sasuke is perfection' phase.

"All right, all right, here's what we'll do." I pressed a few buttons on my data slate, sharing Neji's pictures with everyone.

"As everyone can see, there's four entrances, each guarded by a few machine gun emplacements, and these two," I said, circling the gates, "have two guard towers. These two tanks will be a problem, but we all know tanks without infantry support are easily destroyed."

I drew an arrow on the northern entrance. "Fireteams Nine and Ten will load up our stolen rebel Landsknecht with charges, and ram it through that gate." I held up my hand before anyone could protest. "We'll put a brick on the gas pedal or something. When it does, it should take out the emplacements, as well as those guard towers."

A few thoughtful looks.

"It'll be like kicking a hornet's nest. They'll all focus on you, after you bruise 'em up a little."

"Clever." Shikamaru said, already deducing the rest of my plan. I grinned.

"Sakura, along with Fireteam Eight, will approach from the south end. While their attention is focused elsewhere, they'll scale these guard towers. With the help of those spotlights they can blind the other emplacements. Then, being on those towers, they'll have perfect firing angles on the rest of them. It's child's play to mop up everyone else, and destroy the jammer."

"And what about me?" Sasuke asked, clearly upset at being left out.

"You'll provide sniper support from this building here." I pointed at a building about four klicks away.

"Hn." He managed, clearly pleased. He was such a typical sniper. Loved being off on his own.

"And since you're all adamant I won't be left alone, and since she made an excellent point, Hinata will accompany to my position and provide sniper support too. Any questions?" Sakura spoke up.

"What about the tanks? You think they'll have the presence of mind to take out the guard towers, or leave the compound and come hunting?" I thought about it, brow furrowing.

"I don't think so. If they get smart, however, Kiba has his friend Akamaru to help." He patted his rocket launcher affectionately. "And if they leave the station to hunt us in the street, they'll be doing our job for us."

"Yosh!" Rock Lee shouted, pumping his fists up and down. His horrific bowl cut practically shook with excitement. "They will not know what hit them!"

"Easy there, champ." Tenten said, calming her ecstatic teammate. Or at least trying to.

"If we want this to work, we'll have to wait until nightfall." Shino said. I nodded.

"We leave at dusk, which should be in about four hours. Everyone, rest up and get ready to go." They obeyed, dispersing to clean their weapons or catch a quick nap.

I flexed my fingers. It wouldn't be easy, but having fleet support would be worth it. Hinata caught my eyes, a smile on her face. Noticing I was looking at her, she gave a small 'eep!' before turning back to her cleaning, a blush creeping up her face.

I rubbed the back of my head, also flushing. Women are so confusing.

* * *

**A/N: I would know. **

**Anyway, things will start to pick up _VERY_ quickly from here on out. **

**Hold on to your butts. **


	8. Interlude IV

**A/N: Another interlude. Remember, these are _OPTIONAL. _If you don't want to read them, _don't_. They're not required.**

**Review Replies:**

**MeMyselfAndZafir: Thanks! I debated for awhile if Akamaru should be the rocket launcher, or some drone-type thingy (like the Boston Dynamics Big Dog). I think Kiba turned out well as he did. And thanks for liking my stuff! :)**

**Disclaimer: I own everything in this chapter except a name. Naruto stuff ain't mine, rest is. I think you get this at this point. It's what... chapter eight?**

* * *

Interlude 4

**Excerpt from _Unification: An In-Depth Analysis And History_ by Dr. Duncan. S. Thompson of Olympus University, Dr. Yiang Xu of Olympus University and Dr. Naota Haruno of Oxford University. _Chapter 40.1: The Allied Systems Military: Section 1 - Introduction_**

In fighting Unification, The Allied Systems began in a much stronger position than the Hegemony. They had been preparing for decades, were composed of roughly %70 of all Humanity (the total of which was some hundred billion at the time), and had the largest combined fleet. The war almost concluded in its first two decades due to this advantage, but the Terran Hegemony held on. How did they manage to survive this overwhelming advantage (that, for the most part, persisted for the course of the war)?

A brief summary, before we begin. The Allied Systems relied on numerical superiority and an evasive strategy that frustrated the Hegemony for years. Warping in with millions of soldiers and hundreds of ships, they would invade a colony, strip it of everything useful, and move on to their next target. By the time Hegemony reinforcements would arrive, they would find a ransacked and empty colony, usually with accompanying news that the next Alliance attack had begun.

This advantage was eventually overcome because of the Allied System's critical flaw: they lacked the centers of learning and industry that the Hegemony possessed in their oldest and most loyal colonies. Alliance technology progressed at a slower rate, and while they could out-produce the Hegemony, their goods (be it foodstuffs, ships, weaponry, or equipment) tended to be of substantially lower quality. Their research programs were also lackluster. Hailing from dozens of separate (competing) corporations, their scientists lacked ambition, and the drive to find the cutting edge of technological revolutions that would come to re-define the war. Instead, they repurposed second-hand knowledge from Hegemony scientists or pursued more profitable subjects.

The rest of the Allied Systems military will be discussed in the next ten sections, in topics ranging from organization to enlisted culture.

* * *

**A/N: Like I said last chapter, the pace really starts to pick up after this, and the more 'personal' interludes begin.**

**Please, review! I love hearing everything you guys have to say!**


	9. I Found Brains on My Boots 2 Days Later

**A/V: Like I said before, the pace is picking up, in _all_ aspects of the story. Also, the reasoning behind an 'M' rating start to appear. I hope you guys enjoy!**

***coughwaymoreHinatafromnowoncough***

**Ahem.**

**Review Replies:**

**MYK-ON: I'm always glad you like my interludes! :3**

**Cover image: u/BendyWend**

**Disclaimer: Naruto stuff = not mine, the Rest = mine.**

* * *

**Chapter 5: I Found Brains on My Boots Two Days Later**

The station rang with the sound of preparations. Cartridges slid into magazines, magazines rammed home into rifles. Mesh shirts slid on, hissing over skin and muscle, armor clacking and rustling as it was thrown on. Tape rolls were unfurled, strapping on extra ammo and explosives. I strapped my helmet on, fixing it squarely beneath my chin. As soon as it was on, text scrolled and flickered across my visor.

My HUD booted up, giving me readouts on my squad. Comms, health status, and the small minimap in the bottom right corner. It was clustered with blue dots over a small building that read Station 135. Alright, it was good to go. The HUD/data slate system implemented in our squad was enormously useful. Nicknamed Tac-Net, I could see what any other squad member was seeing (via their helmet cams), I could locate them anywhere, give them orders, as well as directions, updates, etc., all via my data slate.

I went above ground, checking on the progress Shikamaru and Sakura were making with the Landsknecht.

"I wish we didn't have to blow it up," Shikamaru moaned from underneath the car, "it's gonna be a pain walking everywhere."

"Just imagine the look on their faces when it goes sky-high." Sakura said, barely straining to lift the car. No longer bound inside a helmet, her pink hair was held back by her hitae-ate, leaving her (admittedly large) forehead free.

"We good to go?" I asked.

"Yup." Sakura said. "Took the turret off, figured it might come in handy later."

"Good thinking." I looked at her equipment. Most of her satchel charges were missing. "How many are in there?"

"Eight." She said with a sly grin. Damn. That, combined with the fuel tank, and we were looking at one big-ass boom.

"Nine, now." Shikamaru said, crawling out from underneath the car. He sighed and lit a cigarette.

"Save some for the jammer, huh?" I looked at the sun. Sinking below the mining spires, it was a hazy red globe, barely shining through the city's smog. Time to begin. I yelled down the stairs.

"Kosenjobi, reeeeeport!" A bit of squabbling, and then they tromped up the stairs, single file and in perfect step. It was like a light switch with these guys. Joking and playing one minute, born, organized soldiers the next.

"Kosenjobi reporting for duty!" They answered in unison. They weren't much for rank and posture, but they sure liked showing off when they could.

Looking everyone over, they were jumping and fidgeting in place, keyed up and ready to go. This is what we're here for, this what we were born to do.

"Ooh-rah!" I cried. They responded in kind.

It was slow going, but after a good two hours of trekking through burned out pre-fabs and rubble strewn streets, we diverged. Neji pointed out the way, putting those fancy eyes of his to work. With the Hyuuga cousins' byakugan, it was easy to avoid patrols and encampments, allowing us to pass unseen through enemy territory.

"This is where we split." I said, throwing a fist up and halting the column. "You guys know where to go. Keep in touch." I tapped my helmet.

Chouji was driving the Landsknecht, sweating profusely. No wonder, considering the metric fuckton of explosives he was squatting on. He gave me a weak smile and a two fingered salute.

Hinata and I entered the apartment building. My stomach hurt a bit, which meant that I needed to take a rest soon, otherwise I'd rip my wound open. The hallways were littered with trash, every single compartment in the lobby torn open and bereft of contents. Graffiti covered the walls, thick enough to obscure the original wallpaper completely.

We climbed the stairs, taking care to barricade the way with whatever we could find. Besides a few doors that were bolted shut, the building seemed empty. Finding an open door on the top floor, we holed up inside. With a small window facing the jamming station, it was perfect.

Falling onto a filthy, worn sofa, I tried to rest. I took off my armor and fatigues, checking on my stomach wound. Nothing. Hiking down my pants, I checked on my thigh. No blood on the bandages. Whew. If I strained myself, no doubt Sakura-chan would-

Why was Hinata staring at me? Her mouth opened and closed, working silently. Her milky, pale eyes wide in a wondrous hunger. I looked down and realized I was pretty much half-naked. Giving another 'eep!' she scurried away, throwing broken furniture against the door, in case anyone came knocking.

What was her deal? Why couldn't she stand me without my clothes on? We had practically lived together for eight years! Did my wound disgust her that much? And hell, why did I _care_?

Deciding to ignore her little outburst, I watched her shuffle about the room as she tried to avoid my gaze, setting up a resting place for her rifle well away from the window (to rest it on the sill or stick it out was idiocy of the highest order). Every move she made was so graceful and precise, no unnecessary energy expended. And this was just throwing a sniper's nest together!

Noticing I was watching her she smiled and looked away. I couldn't see for sure, but I was damn sure she was all red in the face.

Strapping my armor back on, I took out a pair of binoculars. Sure, Hinata could see the station no problem, but those of us without godly eyes had to make do.

Aw, shit. There were four tanks in the station now, as well two more trucks full of troops.

"Kosenjobi, be advised," I said over comms, "we got two extra Hoplites and almost a full platoon of troops, over." Examining the emblem on their truck, I cursed, opening comms again. "They're the 111th Mobilized. Rakshasa."

"Aww, fuck." Kiba cursed into my headset.

"What the hell are those butchers doing here?" Ino asked.

"I don't know and I don't care. I was getting tired of killing conscripts anyway." Sasuke said coldly. As per usual.

"Alright, we got a few more obstacles, but this is still doable!" I said, trying to keep everyone steady. I knew they weren't intimidated exactly, just a little thrown by some unforeseen complications.

"How goes the approach?"

"I'm out of the car." Chouji said, audibly relieved.

"Surprised you fit." Mumbled Tenten.

"Whaaaaaaat?!"

"Now you've done it." Shikamaru grumbled.

"Tenten, I'm gonna end you!" He roared.

"Save it for the rebels, Chouji." I said, laughing despite the imminent danger. This is what I missed during those first few hours in Erebus. It was nice hearing my squad's bickering, inevitable and unchanging as the tide.

"Hey Tenten."

"What's up, _Gunso_?"

"Can you tag the Hoplite in the front? Kiba's gonna need to take at least one of these out before you can make it in."

"Right-o _Gunso_!" She chirped. Tenten was the squad's weapon specialist, and carried a variety of handy tools and unique weapons that aided the squad as a whole. One of which was a targeting label that was linked to all rocketry systems in the squad. To make lots of complicated electronics simple, it was a guidance tag that, when fired, gave an unerring targeting signal to the smart rockets we used. No matter how many flares the target spat out, no matter how much smoke, that rocket was hitting home.

"Eight, Sakura, how are you guys doing?"

"In position." Shino said.

"Alright. Let's go guys. Good hunting."

"Hai!" They replied. I looked back at Hinata. She looked worried, but gave me a small smile.

"Engaging auto-pilot." Shikamaru said.

"Hinata, can you give me updates? The night vision on these things is terrible."

"Of course, Naruto-kun." She had settled behind a desk, where her rifle was resting, primed and ready. "The car is approaching... it's through!"

"Bombs away." Shikamaru drawled.

I didn't need her to tell me when the Landsknecht blew up. Fire shot into the sky, the resulting noise reaching us without difficulty. Tenten clicked her comms on, the sound of small-arms fire constant and sharp in the background.

"Tag placed! They're all yours, Kiba-kun!"

"Copy that! Signal... locked on!" He replied, undoubtedly grinning his sharp-toothed grin. "Rocket away!" He said, accompanied by a _thwunk-fwoooosh_.

I heard Hinata exhale behind me, the breath easing out of her in a hushed whisper. She squeezed the trigger, her rifle kicking against her shoulder and engulfing the apartment in noise.

Looking through my binoculars, I saw one of the spotlights closest to teams nine and ten burst apart, raining glass and metal onto the chaos below.

A high-pitched whine was next, Kiba's rocket screaming down on the foremost tank with an extra burst of speed. Smoke spewed out of the tank, a last ditch effort to avoid being destroyed. It failed.

The rocket hit the Hoplite's turret, breaking through the depleted uranium hull with a gout of flame, before engulfing the tank in an flash of detonating anti-matter.

The Hoplite disappeared, seventy tons of metal ripping apart in a white burst of pure destruction. The explosion caused me to put the binoculars down, my eyes stinging from the light. Anti-matter's some kick-ass stuff. Too bad Kiba only carried one at a time.

"_Yatta_! Fucker went up real good!" Kiba howled, pleased with his handiwork.

"Neji here, tank aside, we're getting lit up!" I could believe it. Tracers spewed out of the station, white flickering lights engulfing the blue dots on my HUD.

"Sasuke, Hinata, take out the emplacements!" They affirmed the order, and I heard Hinata open fire beside me, not letting a second pass without a target falling. I grimaced. All those satchel charges and that anti matter rocket, and my squad was still pinned!

A rumbling blast sounded from a Hoplite, ripping apart the street outside of the compound. Chunks of asphalt rose into the sky, the air choked full of red dust.

"Report, everyone okay?"

"We're fine." Shikamaru coughed.

"Shaken up, but alive." Neji added, sounding dazed.

"Sakura, how're those guard towers coming?" It was hard to make out, but I saw her hulking form rising steadily on the ladder.

"They're coming, give us a second."

Another rippling explosion. The Hoplites were tearing into my squad.

"Kiba, you there?"

"Yeah, just reached the top."

"Light 'em up! Sakura?"

"Right here, Naruto-kun!"

"Get those spotlights in their eyes then take care of those Hoplites!"

An explosion filled my binoculars. I wished more than anything I could be there with them, getting a better idea what was going on.

"Shino here. Targets are easy and plentiful." Eesh. Shino's a good guy, but once he gets serious, he's one cold son of a bitch.

"They're taking severe casualties, but they're not budging!" Hinata said, slamming another mag into her rifle.

"Sakura!"

"Working on it!" What I saw next was a thing of beauty. Sliding down on some cabling, Sakura dashed forward, her Hellhound blazing, dodging and twisting under the rounds screaming over her head.

Reaching the rear Hoplite, she leaped onto its turret. With her ungodly strength, she ripped the hatch open, threw a grenade inside, and shut it again.

Hitting the ammo stash, the grenade fried the crew inside, the tank spewing flames from its turret and engine casing. She dived away from the explosion, rolling into a ditch.

"Lee-kun what are you doing?" Hinata shouted into her helmet.

"What is it, what's going on?" I asked.

"He's got Chouji's grenade launcher!" Sure enough, I saw a tiny form running inside of the compound, white explosions bloomed around the remaining Rakshasa. Tracer fire followed him, but never caught up. Lee was always our fastest. Diving behind a concrete divider, I heard comms crackle, and a breathless voice sing out.

"That is the power of youth! Wait until I tell Gai-sensei!" Utilizing Lee's distraction, more fire poured into the station area, pinning the rest of the rebels down, and keeping the Hoplites from drawing a bead.

"Sakura here. Augh!" She cried, clearly hurt. Before I could ask her myself, I heard Sasuke call out.

"You ok, Sakura?" Huh. Well that was weird.

"I'm... fine! Gonna blow up the jammer. Shino, Kiba, cover me!

I could hear their fire from here, rattling, short pops that carried across the city to our tiny window.

"Shino, I'm viewing your HUD!" I said, pulling up my data pad and pressing a few buttons. After a short wait, I was treated to a blurry, pixilated, shaky cam. "Cover Sakura!"

Before me was a hellish battleground. Corpses littered the ground, and blood pooled into small lakes. Dominating the camera's limited field of view was an M-34 rifle, muzzle flash spitting death at any Rakshasa dumb enough to pop out of cover. In the midst of it all was a blurry navy-blue form running towards the center of the compound. The windows on the jammer station tore themselves from their frames, bullets raining out in a steady stream. Too little, too late. The M-34 jerked again, shooting into the windows, spinning the men inside into a dance of death. Sakura lobbed her last frag inside, ducking under the window frame when the grenade's loud _wumph_ tore the survivors apart like wet tissue paper.

A rebel popped out of cover behind her, and I heard Shino's rifle click through the camera. Empty.

"He's mine." Sasuke said, calm and collected as ever. Shino had ducked below cover to reload, so besides my shitty binoculars, I was blind again.

"Hinata!"

"He's down! Aaaand Sakura's away!" I didn't need a squad mate's helmet cam to see the jammer go up.

"Yosh!" Lee shouted.

"Way to go, Nee-chan!" I shouted, exuberant.

"Yeah." Deep breath. "No problem." Deep breath. "Please, Nii-chan." Deep, rattling, breath. "Never let me do that again."

"You got it." I said, grinning.

"We got the rest of these assholes." Kiba said.

"Ugh. Leaving us to clean up. Typical." Shikamaru said, the complaints unending.

"Hey Sasuke! Watch me hit this Hoplite!" Ino said. God, was she still keeping that 'impress Sasuke' game going?

"Hn." Guess he didn't know. Or care. Shocker. Another earth-shattering bang, and the third tank went up.

Whew! That was close, but _damn_ was I proud of my squad. Not many others could pull that off!

Hinata was beaming, smoke pouring out of her rifle, beautiful lavender eyes focused solely on me. I gave her a hug, laughing. She returned it, her face red enough to heat my own. We were in the clear! So why did I feel anger? Fear? Wait... _shit_!

I heard a growl outside the apartment. In English.

"Get down!" I yelled, pressing Hinata's face into the floor. Just in time. Bullets whizzed over our head, the wall by the door sprouting hundreds of holes. Plaster from the walls filled the apartment, spraying out in thick tufts.

Trying to stay as low as possible, Hinata pointed in three separate places past the wall. Thank god for the byakugan. Snatching up my rifle, I fired where she pointed, getting a thumbs up when I hit.

"We gotta go!" I yelled. I could barely hear my own voice, the roar of rounds over my head almost deafening. She nodded, picking up her own weapon and pressing the butt against her shoulder.

"Let me lead!" She yelled back. I nodded, readying myself to sprint. Counting down from three, I gave the signal, and we burst out of the apartment.

"This is Naruto, we're under fire, where are you guys?"

"Mopping up! Almost done!" Sakura cried.

Hinata vaulted over our crude staircase barricade, firing two shots through the floor as she did so. Turning the corner, she fired six more times, recoil pushing her against the wall. Signaling me to cover her, she ducked down, struggling to reload. I obeyed, firing blindly down the stairs. Blood splashed the walls, dripping onto us and slickening the stairs with gore.

A wounded rebel groaned and writhed below us, her hands working feebly to stem the flow of blood from her lungs. I shot her in the head. Her helmet split and whipped back, covering the wall in brains. _Better than the pain_, I told myself.

Looking at Hinata, I held up a flashbang. She nodded, closing her eyes and covering her ears. Dropping it down the stairwell, I plugged my ears. After a muted blast, we stormed down the stairs, careful not to trip over the bullet-ridden meat sacks that used to be human beings. I reloaded as I went, clumsily jamming a new mag into my rifle before the next landing.

A few blinded rebels stumbled around, screaming and clutching their ears. We shot the ones in our way, moving too fast to watch them fall. Suddenly, I was flying. Hinata had ripped me to the side and thrown me against the wall.

Where I had been standing, bullets erupted from the floor, filling the cramped stairwell with dust and drywall. I returned fire; anguished screams letting me know my accuracy was better.

Hinata pulled a frag grenade from her webbing. Looking at me, we said all that needed to be said without a word between us. This was the lobby floor. We had to blast through and escape. We didn't know how many more there were, but we had to get out of this death trap before any more showed up. She pulled the pin and threw it.

When it exploded, we dashed out, guns blazing. Anything that moved was double tapped. The floor was a quagmire of rebel corpses, chewed up and ragged from the sheer volume of punishment.

We burst outside, diving to the ground before spinning around and filling the apartment building with whatever we had left in our mags.

"Come on!" I screamed in her ear. She didn't hear me. I shook her shoulder pauldron. That got her attention. Wide-eyed, she looked at me, sweat pouring down her face. 'Go!' I mouthed, pointing emphatically at an alley. She nodded and jumped up, sprinting over to the alley and hauling herself over a chain-linked fence. Following her, I fell into a heap beside her, panting and weak.

"Holy shit." I whispered, looking at her. That was insane. She nodded in bewildered agreement.

"Naruto-kun." She wheezed, "Are you hurt?" I froze in terror. Considering my kekkai genkai, as well as all that adrenaline, I had no idea if I was shot to hell or not. Looking myself over, that didn't seem to be the case. _Whew_.

"What about you?"

"I'm alright." She breathed. Physically, sure. But we were both covered in blood, bits of drywall, and other assorted filth. In short, we looked like hell.

"Kosenjobi." I panted. "Report."

"We're headed to your location, you guys ok?"

"We're alive. Made it out." I managed.

"Way to escape the ambush,_ dobe_." A particularly unhelpful voice added.

"Blow me. Go on and head back to the station." I replied, bringing a weary smile to Hinata's face. It didn't last long. Anguish grew on her face, and she sunk down into the ground.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun!" What? Where was this coming from? "Because I wasn't scanning effectively enough, I allowed us to be ambushed!" She hung her head. I didn't like that. I couldn't see her face. So, I laughed.

"N-Naruto?" She dropped the honorific entirely. Must have been worried!

"It's fine, Hinata-chan!" My head fell back as the adrenaline petered out, leaving me exhausted and spent. "Oh, come on, I don't blame you! We were so wrapped up in the assault, we didn't hear them marching around downstairs." Her helmet fell into her hands, letting her luxurious raven hair fall free. Bound tight and matted with sweat, it still looked damn good. Wait, what the hell? Why was I thinking about her hair?

"I-if you insist, Naruto-kun."

"Damn right I insist." I said, beaming at her. She smiled back. I froze. That's right! The jammer's down!

"Shizune, you copy? This is Uzumaki-gunso." Static at first, before her bright and chirpy voice filled my headset.

"This is Shizune, solid copy Uzumaki-gunso! Glad to hear a friendly voice!" My fist went in the air, the word 'yatta' mouthed at Hinata. She giggled, putting an armored hand over her mouth to hide her smile.

"How are you guys doing down there?"

"Well," I said, finally recovering from our narrow escape, "we've had one hell of a day."

* * *

**A/N: Urban warfare ain't pretty. **

**What did you guys think? Too much action? Too little? Too much sci-fi? Not enough? Good character interpretations/dialogue? Bad? Why the hell is Kiba using _WEAPONIZED ANTI-MATTER_?**

**If these thoughts crossed your head, let me know! PM's are just as good as reviews, if you want to share your thoughts without putting something up publicly. The reason this story's up here is to gauge a reaction... so react! Each review makes me ridiculously happy. **

**Next Interlude: The Mysteries of the Sharingan...**


	10. Interlude V

**A/N: After the bullet hell of last chapter, there's a bit of a breather (sorta) chapter coming up, but before that, here's some illuminating data on the most recognizable gen-mod... the Sharingan.**

**Review Replies:**

**MYK-ON: Thank you! I wrote it all pretty quickly... some pulse-pounding stuff!**

**SilentObserver: Wow! Thanks for your review! I'm elated you like my story so much! :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't Naruto stuff. Duh.**

* * *

Interlude 5

**WELCOME BACK.**

.genmod/+serum202+/

**ACCESSING…**

**ACCESSING…**

**WARNING! THIS DATA IS ENRYPTED VIA JERICHO ENCYRP. SYS++**

override/Uzumakitaicho/C:wof

**AUTHORIZED ACCESS!**

crossreference{report1.6-report25.1}

**ADJUSTING RESULTS.**

**FIXING FILE.**

**DONE! PRESENTING!**

Active (live) Users: 3

Total Users: 542

Serum-202, or the 'Sharingan' is an ocular re-adjustment genetic modification, enhancing visual acuity of the subject beyond normal means, and beyond even that of the Byakugan. It requires significant overhaul of basic genomic expression. Most attempts to implant the modification result in juvenile development of cataracts and (usually) a discarded specimen.

Success outside of the Uchiha family is rare. Despite ongoing investigations, it is unknown why the Uchiha have an astronomically higher acceptance rate of Serum-202. Current theories point to a mutation in their founder's DNA, primarily in the epigenetic expression mechanics for visual development.

Users experience vastly improved visual acuity, noticing and processing (on average) 321.6% more visual data than their non-enhanced counterparts. Only geographical features and the curvature of the planetary bodies limit user's sight distance.

Every user suffers from frequent headaches due to the flood of information to their occipital lobe. Attempts have been made to alleviate stress via additional augmentation of Brodmann Area 72, but so far, tests are inconclusive. Serum 289 (the current version of 202) succeeds in augmentation, but leaves the brain malformed and under-developed, rendering it useless.

* * *

**A/N: Huh. Any theories as to what's going on with the sharingan?**

**Let me know!**


	11. Rumination in Station 135

**A/N - Another shorter chapter, but a lot of stuff going down. Hope ya'll like it!**

**Review Replies:**

**Lemon93: Aw, that's awesome! Glad you like it so much. And I haven't played Killzone believe it or not. Most of the 'feel' for this was inspired by Blackhawk Down!**

**MYK-ON: Yes.**

**Cover image by u/BendyWend.**

**Disclaimer: Naruto stuff = not mine, literally everything else = mine.**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Rumination in Station 135**

After we had established a secure connection with Shizune-chan, she gave us an update about the invasion.

By then, we were back in Station 135, resting and celebrating a successful mission.

"Most of the squads landed safely, but we lost quite a few to flak. More reports are coming in, thanks to you guys taking down that jammer. Only had a few squads clear of it." I smiled at this, high-fiving Sakura, careful not to agitate her shoulder, which had been grazed in the attack. Some anti-septic and med-foam sealed had sealed it up in seconds.

"After a bombing run by some flyers we landed yesterday, we'll drop you guys a care package."

"It's desperately needed." I said, checking over our combined ammo stores.

"Besides you, we're landing about a division per day, more when the weather permits. Also, we've started pushing into the city. We'll have you guys out of there in no time."

We cheered. The novelty of Erebus and a real-live combat zone had worn off. Born for war or not, we were getting sick of this hellhole.

"Maybe next time, Obaa-chan" (my nickname for Field Marshal Tsunade) "can send us somewhere with beaches, _neh_?" Spritely laughter filled our headsets.

"Maybe, Naruto-kun, maybe. I hear rebels are landing on Blue-Water-Pure-Shoals!" That earned a collective low whistle throughout the squad. That planet was a legendary paradise, dotted entirely with volcanic islands, pristine coasts, and hot springs galore.

"We must liberate a condo immediately." Shikamaru added, the prospect of lazing around on a beach staring at clouds impossible to ignore.

"Dumb name for a world, but damn, what a fantastic idea." Tenten sighed wistfully.

"Anyway," Shizune continued, still chuckling, "Here's where the drop will be." A green blip appeared on my data slate. "Of course, you don't have any beacons, so this is approximate."

"Copy that." I said. Beacons were used for orbital targeting. much like Tenten's tagging system, beacons allowed orbiting ships to fire accurately into the planet below, allowing targeted orbital strikes (avoiding wholesale bombardment) or tactical deployments (like our care package).

"Alright, I'll ping you when it's outbound. Good hunting!" We said our goodbyes, clicking off comms.

We were quiet for a bit, wearing huge dorky grins as our thoughts lingered on Blue-Water-Pure-Shoals.

"Who's going to go get it?" Sakura asked, breaking the comfortable silence.

"Oh, you've done it now." I said into my palm. Squabbling broke out at once, some fighting for the honor of retrieving it (Lee, Neji, Sakura, Tenten) some to avoid the pain (Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba), and others (Hinata, Ino, Sasuke, Shino and myself) staying out of it completely. I let them bicker for a bit. It was fun listening to them insult, deride, form factions and debate over something we all knew was going to happen one way or another.

A message popped up on my data slate. Non-priority folder. It could wait, I had to deal with this first.

"All right, all right, ALL RIGHT!" I shouted, still smiling. "Three rules! Rule one: no wounded." Groans from Sakura and Tenten. And Shikamaru, realizing his chances of being selected were greater now.

"Pretty convenient for you, huh _dobe_?" Sasuke said, smiling for once in his life.

"He's got you there, nii-chan." Sakura said, nudging me with an elbow. Sasuke noticed, and his smile widened.

"It's a legitimate concern, and you know it!" I huffed, crossing my arms. Hinata giggled, covering her mouth with a hand again. God, that's cute. Where was I?

"Oh right." I coughed. "Second rule: the recovery squad must have at least one sensory gen-mod!" Kiba groaned. He had an enhanced sense of smell, which allowed him uncanny detection abilities, but also earned him the nickname 'Inu-kun' for a time long past maturity.

The rest of the squad nodded with mock gravity, seeing the wisdom in my decree.

"Rule three! The computer decides!" A few more grumblings, but Neji looked appeased. Him and fate. Sheesh.

"Any questions?" I asked.

"Hn."

"Uh-uh."

"Nuh-uh, Naruto!"

"No go, gunso!"

"Yosh!"

"It's in fate's hands."

"This whole thing's such a drag."

"Very well!" I prodded my data slate, opening a randomization app. Entering all eligible candidates, I hit the button. With a grandiose bow, I read off the names, pointing at each selected candidate with dramatic gusto.

"Kiba! Ino! Chouji! Hinata! Lee!"

Lee jumped up into a hundred pushups, thrilled to test himself further. Ino and Kiba groaned, while Hinata giggled some more. Shikamaru lit up a cigarette, smiling contentedly to himself. Smug bastard. I could always make him go, but I couldn't break my own rules. What kind of leader would I be?

However…I didn't really want to risk Lee either. We'd succeeded at destroying the jammer thanks to him, and when we returned, everyone praised his name to the heavens. He'd accepted it all graciously, babbling something about the power of youth.

We settled down for a bit after the excitement. It warmed my heart a little that we could still harangue each other like that after risking our lives just hours before.

I shuddered a bit. We had butchered so many soldiers. However, it seemed that they were all pushing that fact to the back of their minds. Good. We learned long ago to deal with that shit on our time.

I sighed, and my mind flickered to the first time we took lives.

* * *

We were sixteen. Ever since we had entered our eighth year of schooling, we were active members of Konoha's Urban Police Assault Unit, or UPAU. It was a division of local law-enforcement, analogous to the SWAT teams that exist on many other planets.

We were just kids when we got the uniforms. Cool-looking gas masks, black fatigues and flak jackets. We had decided to be soldiers long ago, but the reality hadn't set in yet.

But that's why we were on UPAU. To give us real combat experience before we got thrown into the real deal. We were fourteen then, but it was two years before the first call came. During first period, no less.

I was sitting bleary-eyed in Leadership Class with Gaara, Bee, Utakata, and Fu (s/he was an interesting person, I'll say that much). We had all been promoted to _gunso_ two years back, and I had become good friends with Gaara and Bee. But their data slates didn't beep when mine did. They were all in different squads, from different planets, so I didn't think much of it. Until I saw the notification.

**Kosenjobi. Assemble immediately. UPAU Directive 1-1B Initiated.**

The screen flashed the message three times before it registered. My sensei, Iruka-heichou, nodded.

Sprinting down the hallway, I gathered my squad, all of whom were stumbling out of their classes, their earlier drowsiness robbed from them.

Within five minutes, we were gearing up in the back of an armored van, and Kakashi-sensei was briefing us. He would accompany us to make sure we could handle everything, even after assuring us we didn't need it.

A fourteen-man terrorist cell sympathetic to the rebels had taken two dozen hostages inside a Konoha office building, threatening to kill them all unless the great traitor Orochimaru (the bastard behind the Bombardment of Babel) went free. We all knew that was never going to happen, so here we were.

Within ten minutes, we were in a VTOL, attack plan ready, floor plan memorized, and geared up, ready to go. Sitting on the edge of the bench, I surveyed my squad. They were all nerve-wracked and anxious, double and triple checking their equipment. In their black uniforms, only their height differentiated them. In that respect, Sakura was the most noticeable. Even back then she still towered over us.

Kiba lifted his mask and vomited, having to smell our rank nervousness in addition to dealing with his own.

Within twenty minutes, we were rappelling down the side of the building. It was something we'd practiced many times, we were all confident on the ropes. But it wasn't the fact that we were eight stories up and held in place by some equipment that had us shaking. No, it was the terrorists below us that had us shaking, half with anticipation, half with anxiety.

"I'd probably be taking my first nap of the day." I said over comms. I got a few laughs. My studying habits were well known, and I used them to lighten my squad up. If they froze in there, they were dead.

"Alright Kosenjobi, get pumped, we can do this! Engage in five!" They tensed, crouching against the building's sheer walls. "Four! Three!" I tensed, waiting to spring. Sakura, who was next to me, nodded.

"Two! One! Gogogo!" We sprung out from the walls, flying into the air. Our harnesses caught, throwing us into the windows below. We each put two rounds into the glass, breaking the rest with the weight of our fall.

Time slowed, and reflexes took over.

Two terrorists were spinning around to face the windows. Too slow. I double tapped one, putting two rounds in his heart and spraying the hostages with blood. His face twisted into a rictus of agony, blood spewing from his mouth and chest. Sakura took the other one, one round tearing his throat open, the other splitting his head apart.

I hit the floor, rolling into a ready position, sub-machine gun scanning for more targets. Everything moved so slow, and I felt adrenaline surging through me like a tsunami. Ino crashed in, directly behind a terrorist. He didn't even get to turn around before she put a short burst of bullets through his spine at point blank.

Sasuke lit up a masked man as he turned to gun down some hostages. Too slow. They were all too slow.

One more picked up a civilian, a handgun to his head.

"Anyone moves-" Hinata put a round through his forehead, and he flopped to the floor. His hostage, covered in blood, screamed, clutching her ears as tightly as she could.

Chouji stormed forward with his ballistic shield out in front, blocking most of the civilians from enemy bullets.

"Four more outside!" Neji shouted, raising his shotgun at the same time. It roared, shredding the wooden paneling and the terrorists behind it.

"Get them out of here!" I yelled, pointing at the hostages. Ino and Kiba obeyed, herding them onto the VTOL that hovered outside the broken windows. The wind from the vehicle put the room in total disarray, sending papers scattering and buffeting us with howling gales.

They were reluctant, but piled in anyway, screaming and panicked by the chaos that surrounded them. Ino and Kiba did their best, throwing the ones that were too terrified to move willingly.

Bullets kicked into Chouji's shield, embedding themselves in the hardened plastic. He returned fire, blasting at the muzzle flashes that erupted from the hall. Giving a cry, one of the terrorists was torn from cover, getting ripped to pieces by the squad's combined fire. Suddenly, the hail of bullets stopped.

"Hold fire!" My squad sent another few rounds screaming into the hallway. "Hold fire, God damn it!" I screamed. That got their attention.

"Sweep the floor! There's still four of them left!" Hustling forward, the Konoha 12 obeyed. Kakashi caught my eye, nodding slowly. I hurried forward next to my Fireteam, who were waiting by an office door.

"Prepare to breach on my mark!" They tensed again. "Mark!" Sakura smashed the door open with the butt of her rifle, and Sasuke turned into the room, hosing the interior with bullets.

"Two down." He said, turning back outside and reloading.

"Neji here. We got the other one." His voice spiked suddenly. "Naruto look out!"

I spun around in time to see a terrorist sprinting towards me, knife braced to pierce my heart. I dropped, sweeping his legs out from under him. A hand reached for my pistol, tearing it from my holster. I stomped on his elbow, his arm breaking with an audible snap.

I ripped my knife out. Too slow! They were all so _slow_!

It dug into his ribcage, turning and twisting into his body. He screamed, battering me with his broken arm. The knife went down again. And again. It didn't stop until the screaming did, and my arm felt as heavy as lead.

Sakura took the knife from my bloody hand, and crushing me in a tight embrace.

"It's okay, it's okay. Nii-chan. We did it. It's over." And like that, I let a breath go that I seemed to have held since I got the message.

The corpse sat below me, face twisted in agony. Oh. Oh god. I pushed my own despair to the side for the moment. My squad looked okay, relieved and shaking from adrenaline. They were sitting around, clearing their SMGs and panting.

"Everyone." I said, quietly at first. It didn't matter, they all raised their heads to listen to their gunso.

"I'm proud of you guys. We did well. You all know that." They beamed, despite the carnage that surrounded them.

I think they slept soundly that night, but I sure didn't. I kept seeing the faces of the men I killed. Smelling their fear and helplessness. The faces start blurring together after a while, but those first two are still clear in my mind. Always will be.

* * *

**A/N: Boy Naruto just can't get a break.**

**Thanks so much for the support so far, you guys! It's amazing! :D Next story chapter's gonna blow your socks off, promise. ;)**


	12. Interlude VI

**A/N: Another day, another interlude. I'm really happy everyone seems to be enjoying my story so far! Even more pleased when you leave reviews! :3**

**Review Replies: **

**MYK-ON: This is something I had to heavily change from the original. In the original version of this story, the warborn are conditioned to not care too much about their opponents. Interesting to write about sure, but such an attitude definitely didn't fit Naruto's crew.**

**Disclaimer: You know how it goes.**

* * *

Interlude 6

**Excerpt from _Unification: An In-Depth Analysis And History_ by Dr. Duncan. S. Thompson of Olympus University, Dr. Yiang Xu of Olympus University and Dr. Naota Haruno of Oxford University _Chapter 7.1: Armed Forces of The Hegemony: Section 1 – The Navy_**

Beginning with the enormous 330,000-ton flagship HNS-_November Requiem_, the Hegemony Navy began as one vessel and grew to be the most vital branch of the military during Unification. Numbering at three billion active members, the Navy's strength lied not in personnel (although there are many of distinction) but in the vastness and adaptability of the Hegemony Fleet. Providing troop transport, colony protection, planetary fire support, supply and equipment hauling, the use of all zero-g craft, and most importantly, direct fleet engagement with the Alliance Navy. Without its Navy, the Hegemony would be incapable of controlling any territory past Mars, let alone the dozens of light-years that compose Hegemony Space.

Besides support landers, the Navy operated exclusively in the vastness of space. It was also the most ingrained with civilian life, for when Diaspora ended and Unification began, colonization and trade stagnated. The Navy was the lifeline of civilian life, protecting commercial trade ships and colony hulks as they traversed the stars. Frequent subjects of piratical Alliance raids, they would rarely survive without Fleet protection.

The Navy grew quickly, out of sheer necessity. Three fleets were completed in the span of Unification's first five years, and of those four thousand original craft, only six remain in service. They are a testament to the necessity and sacrifice of the Navy, and its absolute utility during the longest and largest war known to man.

In the next section, we will discuss the specific engagements of the Navy, including how their tactics and equipment evolved over two centuries of war.

* * *

**A/N: I think ya'll are gonna get a real kick out of tomorrow's chapter...**


	13. Blue Moon, You Saw Me Standin' Alone

**A/N: I hope you guys like this chapter! I certainly do...**

**Oh, on a story-unrelated note, I've begun work on my second fan-fiction. I won't say much, except that it's a crossover of two IP's I mentioned in my bio, and will not have the same release schedule as Time to Say Goodbye. I'll keep you updated, for anyone who's interested. Guess which universes to get a prize! (Spoiler alert: there's no prize)**

**Review Replies:**

**iyaoyas: This. This shit right here, people. These kind of reviews are what I pray for. Seriously man, thank you so much for your extensive and in-depth review. (That's not sarcasm). Your review is another reason why I put this story up, because as much as I tried to ****accurately depict military life, I knew I'd fuck up something. So, to save you and others further headaches, I've made the changes. In regards to other parts of your review, despite being a fan of the Warhammer 40k fluff, I haven't read the Ciphais Cain novels (HERO OF THE IMPERIUM!). But if this story in anyway reminded you of 40k, I'm honored enough by that fact. The Gaunt's Ghost series had a huge impact on my tastes as a reader and my style as a writer. I'm thrilled you enjoy my story so much, and I hope you like everything that comes next. :)**

**MYK-ON: The Navy is the most vital part of the Hegemony military, but doesn't get as much time as they deserve in this story. Felt the need to give them a little credit!**

**Cover image by u/BendyWend**

**Disclaimer: Ya'll know the drill.**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Blue Moon, You Saw Me Standin' Alone**

"Naruto-kun." Hinata.

"What's up, Hinata-chan?"

"We're leaving."

"Huh?" I was so lost in the past, I forgot about our resupply. A green dot had appeared on my data slate. "Oh. Right." Hinata hesitated before placing a hand in my shoulder.

"A-are you okay?"

"All good. Hopefully you'll bring back some ramen,_ neh_?" I grinned. Despite her earlier concern, she smiled too.

"It _is_ your favorite." How'd she know that? I normally ate by myself...

We waved them off, and they went up the stairs, out into Erebus.

"I'll take watch." I said. No one debated. Fatigue ate at me, but I shook it off with a swig from my canteen. I could go a week without sleeping if I had to. We all could, if worst came to worst.

Taking a page from Hinata's book, I cleaned my rifle, keeping a spare lying against my chair. This rifle was the same one I learned to disassemble and reassemble since I was eight.

The M-34 felt like an old friend, one that would always be by my side. I knew it better than any other part of my equipment. Unbidden, the words Kakashi-sensei drilled into us came back in full force. 'This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine. Without me, my rifle is useless. Without my rifle, I am useless.'

Ah, Kakashi-sensei. Our longtime mentor and closet pervert. I smiled to myself. I whistled an old tune to myself, before a disturbance arose.

Sakura and Sasuke were having an argument, ample gesturing and pointing involved.

"What's up, guys?" I called.

"None of your concern, _dobe_." Sasuke spat.

"Naruto-kun, make him see reason!" I laughed.

"Sakura-chan, we both know making _teme_ do anything is hopeless!" She pouted, an action made inadvertently hilarious by her size.

"She refuses to admit defeat." Sasuke said.

"What?"

"We had a wager. If she could destroy the jammer unassisted, I would have to... uh..." His brow furrowed in... thought? Annoyance? I couldn't tell.

"The deal was if I did it unassisted, he'd have to write me a poem." She paused. Now she was turning red. What was in the air tonight? Did the spires finally break down, spewing some horrible gas into the city? "A… love poem." A laugh made it through before I could bite it back.

"You aren't serious." I wheezed through reeling gasps for air. "And he agreed to this?" Sasuke was notoriously popular among Konoha women, and warborn women were no exception. What was ludicrous was his encouraging it, albeit indirectly.

"She offered me her premium meal tickets for a month." Whoa, what?

"Holy _shit_ Sakura-chan, you weren't playing around!" She fumed again. Premium meal tickets were one of the most valuable things to us warborn. We had no concept of money. Our equipment was provided for us. We've lived on military food for fourteen years, finally tasting locally-harvested fare aboard the _Omodaru_. It was… well, there were a few things that have changed my life (I've lived a long one), and I can still taste that first bite of fruit. That precious, limited food was our universal vice, paid for with those beautiful silver tickets.

"Over a poem?!" She flushed. Women.

"No wonder he was so quick to help you out back there." Sasuke said nothing. Wow. I put my face in my hands. And they called _me_ the immature one. "You guys could have really fucked up, you know that right?" They nodded. Wait. Wait, this was perfect. If they were feeling guilty… I stood up, summoning whatever gusto I had.

"Due to its irresponsible nature, on my authority as _gunso_, I hereby declare this wager null and void!" I swiped my hand down.

"Nii-chan!" Sakura pleaded.

"_Dobe_." Sasuke growled. Sorry,_ teme_. No earth-grown tomatoes for you.

"_Tadaima_!" Hinata's voice, wafting down from the stairs. That was fast.

"_Okari!_" I shouted back.

Lugging six or seven packs each, the recovery squad trudged down the stairs. They were all smiles despite the strain. I dashed forward to relieve Hinata's burden, ignoring Kiba's grunted 'asshole' comment.

The squad gathered round, eager to get at the supplies. My data slate chirped. That damn low-priority message again. It could wait. Re-supply had arrived!

"Easy, easy, one at a time!" I said, trying to keep them all from crushing the goods. The first canister was full of M-34 ammo, which most of the squad divvied up according to need. A few extra mags too, which are nice in a pinch. The next one was full of satchel charges, which Sakura greedily snatched up, since most of hers had been used.

The third one was a surprise. On top of some new armor plates and a few helmets lay a tiny cake, coconut and iced with red katakana reading **Happy Birthday, Hinata! **

Aw_, hell._

Dead silence.

My data-pad chirped, and I looked down, and a little cake icon flashed in my mailbox. Low priority message, indeed. And I had forgotten. We all had. The excitement in the air shriveled up and died, replaced by shame and embarrassment. I glanced at Hinata, fearing the worst.

Instead, her mouth was open in shock. She tore her data slate out, reading the date with bated breath.

"I totally forgot!" She said, before bursting into laughter, followed by the rest of us. How could you forget your own birthday? We were all smiles again, Hinata wearing the biggest one of them all. Everyone else seemed fine, but I still felt bad. How could I forget _her_ birthday?

We let her open the rest of the canisters, pretending like they were presents. Kiba kept snatching at her cake, leading to either Sakura or myself having to slap his hand away. Greedy bastard. It was all good fun though. In addition to the cake and some replacement armor, we got more frags, some incendiary grenades (Sasuke snatched those up), some targeting beacons, twenty gallons of water (running water was rarer than gold on this planet), and about five kilograms of food. A veritable treasure for us.

I decided Hinata could have anything she wanted out of the re-supply as a birthday gift. She giggled, doing that cute thing with her hand again, before picking out a single flash bang. Interesting choice, but hey, it was her birthday.

Orders came up shortly after, breaking us out of our brief revelry. We were to rendezvous with a loyalist partisan force that had surfaced in the industrial districts. We were expected to meet them at the Pure Oasis Mall in eight hours.

"Holy shit, eight hours?" I exclaimed, after reading the orders twice over.

"What's wrong, Naruto?"

"Eight hours! Talk about getting some sleep!" I laughed. Perfect! Getting more than four hours of sleep in the field was lucky, and we could afford at least _six_. "How's that for a birthday gift, Hinata?"

"Pretty good, Naruto-kun. But who gets watch?"

"You pick, birthday girl!" I said, waggling a finger at her. She seized up, pushing her index fingers together, before taking a deep breath.  
"Um! HowaboutwetakethefirstwatchNaruto-kun?" An odd choice, but sure, why not? Guess this means I could sleep uninterrupted afterwards. My squad mates exchanged smiles and pointed looks. What was that about? What are they smirking about?

"Sure, sounds good! Get some rest, guys." They saluted mockingly before stretching out, or cooking some MREs. Deciding to set up outside for a change, we walked out into the night air, which was surprisingly cool and fresh for Quiet Dunes. Each breath seemed to make my stomach hurt less. Being on watch with Hinata was cool too.

I leaned against a wall next to her. My rifle, now clean, rested against my shoulder. We were quiet for a while, not saying much. Enjoying each other's silent company. I closed my eyes, sighing. I felt the need to apologize.

"I feel really bad about forgetting." She smiled.

"I forgot too, Naruto-kun."

"That's different!" I said, protesting, "You don't just forget the birthday of someone you really like!" That shut her up for some reason. I could hear her sucking in breaths from here. Why were they so sharp? Was it something I said?

"I-I-I…" she tried, before sticking the flash bang into my arm, "this is for earlier. I-I-I owe you!" I pushed it away, but why was I grabbing her hand to do it?

"It-it's fine!" I tried to say, feeling my face burn. "I should be thanking you! We never would have made it out of there if it wasn't for you!" It was dark, but I could still see her face flush. It wasn't like she was very far away. In fact, I think she was coming closer and closer.

"Naruto-kun…" Her eyes were wide, reflecting the pale blue moon in resplendent lavender.

"Hina-mm!" With one quick motion, her lips met mine, soft and sweet.

Oh.

Oh man, have I been an_ idiot_! Realizations crashed into me, one after another. This… it... it explained _everything_! The stuttering, the blushing, the finger-pushing, the- holy hell! I liked her too! How could I have missed _that_?! It was the reason I was always watching her, noticing her eyes and stuff… it's why I spent so much time thinking about her!

She pulled away abruptly, fear in her eyes.

"Oh no! Naruto-kun… I'm… I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-" She stumbled over her words, tears brimming at the corners of her eyes. I was still lost in my head, trying to process all this new information. "Naruto-kun, I-" At once, I decided I wanted more. Rebels be damned, Erebus be damned, my own stupidity be damned.

"Narut-mm." Pulling her forward, I kissed her back. "Mm. _Mmmmmmm_." My arms wrapped around her, holding her tightly against me. She did the same, hands working their way to my neck. We were both pretty gross, now that I think about it. Covered in the filth of Quiet Dunes, black grime, red sand and redder blood streaked our armor and clothes. But we were young, and we couldn't have cared less. And the kiss was, as most first kisses are, terrible. Teeth clashed, lips mangled, and tongues making hesitant darting movements. But after a few seconds, we meshed, and got a rhythm going.

And it felt like flying.

She was so warm, so beautiful. I didn't want to stop kissing her, but my lungs were screaming. Pulling back, I gasped for air, but she allowed me no respite. Pulling me close with a hungry smile on her face, she pressed her lips to mine again. Her hands ran through my hair, sending a pleasant chill down my spine. Somehow, one of her hands found its way underneath my mesh-top.

Weren't we on watch?

My rifle clattered to the ground, Hinata edging it off my shoulder with her free hand. My tongue ran along the inside of her mouth, her own pushing back, tantalizingly smooth. She tasted so good. My own hand was reaching under her armor, running over her soft skin and lean muscles. I caressed every inch of her, and she whimpered softly, kissing me harder.

She wrapped her legs around me, hoisting herself onto me with a small jump. I caught her, holding her up in a firm grip. Wonderful, I remember thinking. Everything about her was just that… wonderful.

It was hard to believe that sweet, shy Hinata was hiding _this_ under the surface for so long. It was pretty hot, when I thought about it.

Resting in the crook of my arm, she pulled back, hair spilling into her beaming face.

"Naruto-kun."

"Yeah, Hinata-chan?"

"Thanks."

"For what?" Only when the words left my mouth did I realize how stupid they sounded. She didn't care of course. She was too perfect to notice the inanities that came out of my mouth. So she giggled instead, bringing her hand out from its place on my chest and putting it in front of her smile. She pulled herself closer, our lips almost touching again. Her face was the reddest I've ever seen it.

"For the best birthday of my life." She kissed me again, gently. Our foreheads met, eyes locking as I pulled back from the kiss.

"It… really happened kind of quick, huh?" I laughed, before she cut me off with another kiss. I ran my fingers through her hair, brushing the shiny black locks behind her ear. Without thinking, I stopped kissing her mouth, instead working my way across her cheek and down her neck. She gasped, her fingers tightening and digging into my neck.

Then, a wolf-whistle ripped its way into my ears. Almost dropping Hinata, my head whipped around to find the entire squad watching us, big, stupid grins on their faces. Hinata buried her face into my shoulder, giving a loud 'eep!'

I take it back. _This_ was the reddest I've ever seen her face. Kiba was the whistling culprit, his fingers still in his wide, grinning mouth.

"You… perverts!" I managed, undoubtedly blushing as much as Hinata.

"How scandalous, Naruto-kun!" Sakura cooed. Oh no, not Sakura too!

"I'm not gonna lie," Ino said, her smile wide enough to touch both ears, "this is a surprise." Tenten did that...fawning noise every female did whenever they saw something irresistibly cute. You know. The annoying one.

"You've got quite the moves there, _Naruto-kun_." She whined, mimicking Hinata's high-pitched voice.

"How long were you watching?" I demanded, still shielding Hinata from the leering stares.

"Too long." Neji said, clearly disgusted.

"Oh yeah? Well don't pretend you and Tenten are on the up-and-up, asshole!" I countered. A hushed 'ooooo' worked its way through the squad, and the two flushed (Tenten more so than Neji).

"D-don't change the subject, _gunso_!" Tenten said, pointing furiously.

"If you're done giving away our position to any rebel who happens to have a set of ears," Sasuke said, catching us all in a withering glare, "I think _dobe_ and Hinata should return to guard duty." He sneered. "REAL guard duty." I flushed again, and Hinata buried herself even further into my shoulder.

It occurred to me that I was still holding her up, her legs wrapped tight around my waist.

"You've said your piece." I growled at them, unable to sound as menacing as I wanted to.

"We're glad for you two," Sakura started, putting her hands on her hips (Sakura code for business-time), "but please, focus on guarding us, at least for the next two hours!" I hung my head, nestling it into Hinata's shoulder.

"You got it, Sakura-chan."

"Good." She said, pleased. "Now come on everyone, we've had our fun." They followed her back underground.

Once I was sure they were gone, I set Hinata down, though I was loathe to do so.

"They're right, you know." I said, nibbling at her ear. She pushed me back with a giggle.

"So you should probably stop that." She said, before pushing her hands into her lap and looking away, face still rose-red. "N-not that I want you to!" We both laughed a little, and I rubbed the back of my head. Stooping down to pick up my rifle, I looked at her. She was too good for me.

"You kissed me first." I said, poking her in the ribs. It didn't do much, considering she was still in her armor, but she recoiled anyway, pretending to be hurt.

I sat down in the metro entrance, beckoning Hinata over. She settled down beside me, while I wrapped an arm around her. With a happy sigh, she settled into me, one hand over my armor, the other on her rifle.

We were silent for a while, just enjoying each other's company. Hinata broke the silence this time, looking up at me with those gorgeous eyes.

"I'm sorry if I... came on a little strong." She whispered.

"You... you're fine, Hinata-chan." I said, rubbing the back of my head. I gave a small, embarrassed chuckle. "I... um... may have liked it." She beamed, reddening. Her smile... I would do anything to make sure it never left her face.

"It's just... I've felt this way for so long, the instant you kissed me back, I just... exploded." She pushed her fingers together.

"Really? How long?"

"Well... I first knew when... well, do you remember the tire drill?" Did I! Two weeks after we signed onto the Academy, the physical conditioning began. One of the most hated exercises was the dreaded tire field, a latecomer to our exercises, but certainly the most infamous. With weights strapped to our ankles, we had to hop across a field of tires for two kilometers, starting over if you tripped or stopped. "Well, Sasuke-san tripped over halfway through, and when he started crying, you went back to the start with him, just so you could make him feel better. Just to encourage him." Holy shit. I remembered that… That was ages ago!

"That was like the second time we had tires! We couldn't have been more than eight!" She laughed a wonderful laugh.

"We were seven."

"You've liked me since then?"

"Yes. My eyes were still a little sore from the transplant, but I'll never forget that sight. Or how hard you worked, never giving up. No matter what." She shook her head.

"It wasn't long before I noticed your smile, or how warm you made me feel." Wow. She knew since then? How did I not notice this for _twelve years_? How did no one _else_? "Not to mention these adorable whiskers." She kissed my tattoos with a giggle. I was silent for a bit, thinking it over.

"And I didn't know until you kissed me."

"You froze up!" She said in a husky whisper. "I thought you hated me!"

"No, no, no!" I protested, waving my hands back and forth. "I was so surprised, and so many things started making sense... and I realized that I liked you too." I leaned in, a huge dorky grin on my face. "It's a lot to take in for _dobe_."

I pushed my lips to hers, a long and lingering press that I wish could have lasted for eternity. When it ended, she looked back out at the city, gazing up at the spires that reached out to the stars.

"And thanks to that, you've made me the happiest girl in the galaxy." She said, holding my hand. I laughed. We were in the middle of a war zone. We were filth-encrusted, wounded, tired, green as grass, and we weren't even sure if we would live to see the next sunrise. But despite all that, I felt the same way.

It wasn't until we were relieved and she snuggled up next to me in my bed roll that it all hit me. She pecked me on the cheek and rest her sweet head on my chest, a huge smile never once leaving her face.

It swallowed me then. The worry, the anxiety. What if I lost her? Could I still do my duty with that fear gnawing at me all the time? What if I gave the order that led to her death? What if she gave her life to save mine? Could I live with myself? If everyone died, would she blame me? Hate me for murdering our friends?

I took a deep breath, steadying myself. I couldn't know what the future held. All I could do right now was enjoy the present. And right then, the present was treating me pretty damn well.

* * *

**A/N:**

**!SUPER IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!**

**I will _NOT_ continue to update this story daily. It will be updated every three days, with interludes posted the day before story chapters (I.e. since today is Monday, the Interlude will be posted on Wednesday, and the Chapter on Thursday). Nothing changed, I am not re-writing the story, not changing anything significant. I just feel like I'm blowing my load a little too early, to put it in the crudest possible manner. Plus, you want this ****glorious sci-fi train to last a little longer, right? Hopefully this doesn't inconvenience you all terribly.**

**On to my chapter comments!**

**!END TRANSMISSION!**

**Mmmm-_mm_! Love me some Naruhina! In a few chapters, I'll be changing the summary to reflect the established pairing. For some reason, it doesn't feel right to do it just now.**

**So, what did you guys think? This was my first time writing anything that even remotely resembles smut, so comments/thoughts are very much appreciated. **

**Also, I can't help but feel their romance is a little rushed. Probably because nothing similar happened in the original version of the story. But fuck that noise, I'm way too much of a Naruhina fangirl to let such a rich opportunity pass me up.**

**Anyway, PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF THE GOD-EMPEROR, REVIEW! It helps me sooooo much it's not even funny. I treasure each review you guys deign to give me. Doesn't matter if it's an essay or a few words, everything's appreciated. :3**


	14. Interlude VII

**A/N: In case in the past few days you've thought... where's the chapter? Well it's coming up tomorrow. As I said in Chapter 7 (chapter 13, technically) the story chapters now update every three days, with interludes released the day before. The story is still done, still complete. Just dragging it our a little longer. **

**Review Replies:**

**MYK-ON: Hoped you like it! :3**

**SilentObserver: I'm glad it seems to work! I tried my best to make the Konoha 12 slightly more realistic... And I'm sorry to say, but this story is not one of epic length. As I said in the first chapter, this is a novel-length (really more of a novella) story, but only _barely_. It won't go beyond their first mission. However, I did leave it open-ended (sorta), so that if this story ends up being enormously popular (somehow) I can certainly continue it. Also, woot! Mass Effect Fan. :)**

**Terrazine: You actually touched on one of my favorite aspects of this story. Just as you and your friends joke around about relationships, so do the Konoha 12. The difference being that joshing and playing around is as natural to them as taking lives by the dozen. They're _still_ kids. And not even I can tell you what that means. On a less "the abyss also gazes into you" note, I'm really touched you like the story so much. I had an absolute blast writing it.**

**Disclaimer: You giggity-giggity-guessed it. I don't own Naruto. I own errythang else doe.**

* * *

Interlude 7

**WELCOME BACK.**

.genmod/+serum1332+/

**ACCESSING…**

**ACCESSING…**

**WARNING! THIS DATA IS ENRYPTED VIA JERICHO ENCYRP. SYS++**

override/Uzumakitaicho/C:wof

**AUTHORIZED ACCESS!**

/crossreference{report1.6-report34.5}

**ADJUSTING RESULTS.**

**FIXING FILE.**

**DONE! PRESENTING!**

Active (live) Users: 12,032

Total Users: 2,000,000 (est.)

Serum 1332, or "Byakugo no In/Strength of a Hundred" is a genetic modification that works by severely limiting the body's production of the protein Myostatin. Myostatin works as a growth inhibitor that adjusts the growth of skeletal and cardiac muscle. When production is deactivated, the receiving subject's muscular growth is exponentially increased. While one of the most common modifications accepted by Acolytes, implementation is very dangerous, often leading to a total shutdown of myostatin production, which eventually leads to the subject's death.

The user experiences vastly improved strength and endurance, which requires little exercise to maintain. Those who receive "Byakugo no In" often function as heavy support roles in their squads, able to carry far more than the average soldier, including portable mortar systems, HMGs normally reserved for MG crews or a vehicle mount, and a surplus of ammunition.

Psychology reports from the previous century of implementation note significant embarrassment in developing acolytes who chose Serum 1332, due to their size when compared to their peers. Like most oddities and awkwardness that arise from genetic modification, it is eventually subdued or adapted to during the thirteen-year training period. However, this embarrassment apparently continues to color the personalities of recipients in all but the strongest-willed subjects. It is therefore recommended for instructors to keep this in mind, and prevent any unnecessary or undesirable traits from arising in the afflicted acolytes.

* * *

**A/N: The reason that so many people have this mod is because EVERY WARBORN in the original story has this (since it's based in real science), in addition to a few other modifications. None of them quite so fanciful or dramatic as the kekkai genkai though.**

**Certainly fit Sakura's ****shtick, so she got to keep it!**

**The story starts to get pretty intense from here on out. But you be the judge of that. PM/Review your thoughts. :)**


	15. The Herald of Judgement Is An Old Woman

**A/N: Hoo boy. This chapter. Wow. This is _not_ a happy chapter. I honestly debated keeping this chapter in the story. It plays a FAR more integral part of the original. but did NOT IN ANY WAY fit the tone of a Naruto fanfiction. I eventually decided to keep it (with a _shit_ ton of adjustments) for several reasons, some of which will become apparent soon enough. It's also important for thematic reasons. So yeah.**

**Review Replies: **

**Lemon93: Haha guess that means I'm doing my job. :) I'm really flattered you like the story so much.**

**MYK-ON: They're not quite so large in the original story, but (again) I figured Sakura could use a little upgrade. She gets no love in canon.**

**Red Sea Horse: Awesome! I'm glad you decided to give me a try! :D**

**tenneyshoes: Holy _crap_, tenneyshoes reviewed my story. I... wow, I need a moment. Everyone, go take time out of your lives to read this person's stuff. It's terrific, particularly if you're a NaruHina fan. Anyway, tenneyshoes, thank you so much for your extensive review! I'm sorry about the delays, but at the current pace, it'd be over much too fast! I'm incredibly honored you like the story thus far. The 'Warborn' universe has been almost three years in the making, and this story just skims the surface. I'm glad it's so intriguing though! I**** hope you like everything that comes next!**

**Cover Image: u/BendyWend (with a few personal adjustments)**

**Disclaimer: The only OC from the original story shows up in this chapter. And she's mine. As well as everything else that ain't Naruto-related.**

* * *

**Chapter 8 - The Herald of Judgement is An Old Woman**

I jerked awake, spitting out a mouthful of Hinata's hair. It was beautiful stuff, soft and a rich, shimmering black, but it was also long, and it got everywhere. Not that I minded. What I did mind was the alarm I had set on my data slate, which was blaring pure hate. We were both awake and alert in seconds, another benefit of military training. We untangled ourselves, earning a few laughs from the rest of the squad. We were the squad's first official couple, and open to mockery (to everyone's amusement but our own).

We had fallen asleep in our fatigues, so it was just a matter of getting our armor on. What the mission? Right. Loyalist partisans. Meet with them. Assist them. Got it.

In the span of about two minutes, we were ready to go, locked and loaded. It would take about two hours to march from where we were (the outskirts of a residential district) to the guerrillas, who had set up in a mall near downtown Erebus.

We didn't know how long we'd be gone, so we took everything, leaving Station 135 empty and bare. I felt a little sad leaving, even though we'd probably be back in a day or so. Of all Erebus, it was the least shitty. Discreetly, before we set out, I took a picture of Hinata and I, where shared our first kiss. _Gunso_ or not, I was guilty of being a sentimental bastard.

It was day, a bright, yellow sun beating down on us as we traversed the broken city. We had been moving almost exclusively at night, and this whole 'Erebus day cycle' was a pretty shitty adjustment. Fomalhaut burned a lot brighter than other suns. In minutes, we were pouring sweat, suffering thirty degrees of dry, oppressive heat, with only the occasional cloud of smog providing any measure of relief. I reminded my squad to conserve water, as it was almost impossible to come by.

And the mining spires still spewed smoke, working nonstop. Even with marital law declared, a thousand elite Hegemony Marines raising hell, and almost 300,000 troops invading the outskirts, the mining never stopped.

I talked to Shizune a few times, getting updates on the invasion landings, and the war as a whole. Apparently, there was some big news. Currently, rebel forces were besieging the stronghold planet of Haelisgaard, in an invasion of unprecedented scale. Almost 800 million total combatants. Hearing those kinds of numbers always made me and my squad feel small. Despite that, we wouldn't trade places with anyone. We were needed here. Small but vital cogs in a war machine almost ten billion strong and 150 years old.

We wished our faraway comrades well, hoping they would prevail.

As we approached the mall, a foul air set in. Kiba smelt it long before we did, his face screwing up in disgust.

"What the fuck is that?" He said, trying not to retch.

"It's probably that poor bastard." Sasuke said, pointing.

"What bastard?" I asked. Sometimes, I oftentimes wished I had fancy eyes. But when the rest of the squad moved forward, that wish shriveled and died.

A Rakshasa soldier had been crucified, nailed to a billboard with rebar spikes, english words painted in rough, broad strokes behind him. The only reason we knew he was Rakshasa was because of their tiger claw emblem, which was carved into his chest in a red circle, now choked black with flies.

Rats and alien beetles picked away at his rotting skin, a river of dried blood running down the sign before pooling on the road. His face was twisted in pain, and his eyes had been eaten long ago. Bones that used to make up his right arm pointed towards the sky, still clinging to bits of flesh.

Hinata clutched her mouth, sinking to the ground to steady herself.

Sakura didn't say anything, just steadying herself on Sasuke's shoulder.

I wanted to vomit, to stop the world from spinning, but I couldn't. Not in front of my squad. No one else had anything else to say, but disgust, pity and sadness radiated from them in thick, cloying waves. Kiba put his gas mask on, trying to keep the stench from choking him. No one blamed him.

"What does the sign say?" I asked.

Sakura looked at it for a minute, hating each second.

"From the stars, judgment falls." Referring to the invasion, of course. Fuck.

It took us awhile to press on. We had to gather ourselves, take deep breaths and avoiding looking at the corpse.

Sakura asked if we should take him down, but I shook my head. It would take too much time, and I doubted whoever pulled him off would be in fighting shape afterward.

The soldier was the easiest part. As the mall drew closer, more mutilated bodies were strewn up in the streets, in ways... well... I'll spare you the details. But they all had messages attached, 'judgment falls' the most prominent among them. Civilians had been hanged too, captioned with disgusting shit like 'she lay with rebels', 'sympathizer', and 'looter'. There was worse too.

We found the mall after four more decay-ridden blocks, the Hegemony flag painted over the huge mall entrance. Weapons stuck out from nearly every available space, the parking garage to the building's left transformed into a towering fortress.

Partisans walked around, smoking and chatting. A few of them were barely four feet tall. Children. They played games in the street while the adults kept watch, drawing on cracked asphalt with bits of chalk. Rifles were slung across their back, threatening to scrape the dirt due to their bearer's diminutive size. They tensed when we approached, but Sakura confirmed who we were (none of them spoke a word of Japanese), and they waved us inside. Their faces remained hidden for the most part, wrapped behind scarves, filthy bandanas, or surgery masks.

They applauded and revered us, judging by the way they stepped out of our way and raising their hands in what looked like prayer. It made me sick. These people were monsters. A part of me (the angry, vengeful trooper) wanted to gun them all down, consequences be damned. These animals were responsible for that horror show outside.

Inside the main floor of the mall, thousands of people went about their business. Generators whirred, and gas-fueled cook fires gathered dozens of shabby, threadbare civilians. Shops and stores (long since looted) served as homes and shelter for the thin and starving. A water pump towards the back of the mall served a line of hundreds, spitting out orange and brackish water.

Our escorts waved us forward, away from the stench of squalor and hunger.

On the roof, tents were set up, where more 'elite' militia resided, carrying looted rebel rifles and equipment, blue armbands around their shoulders.

In the largest tent, we met their commander, a thickset fossil of a woman in an old, ratty, Naval Officer's uniform. Flanked by two heavily armed partisans and poring over a holographic map of Erebus, she cut an intimidating figure despite her advanced age. Her back bent from osteoporosis, she leaned on a plain oaken cane to stand and greet us in near-fluent Japanese.

"Welcome to Erebus, friends." Her voice was silky and cold, a lilting dam that held back nothing but hate. "We have much to do." At that last word, she leaned forward, causing a sterling necklace to fall from her collar. Sakura's necklace.

Everything happened very quickly. Sakura's fist flew forward, and I caught it the best I could. I managed to pull her back to the point where instead of killing her, the punch just knocked her across the room, bowling over a guard in the process. If it had connected with full force, Sakura would have broken her in half. I hated this woman too, I hated all of these sick, bloodthirsty bastards, but if we killed her, we would be dead in seconds.

Immediately, the remaining guard trained his gun on us, but he found eleven rifles pointing back. Sakura was moving over to the commander, who was squawking in pain.

"Where'd you get that necklace?" She screamed, picking the woman up with one hand.

I nodded at Neji and Chouji. They nodded back, understanding at once. They spun, watching the tent flap for intruders, rifles at the ready.

"WHERE?" Sakura screamed.

"On some rebel whore." The woman said, spitting blood. Sasuke and myself pinned Sakura's arms back, straining with all our might to keep her from tearing this woman to pieces.

"You **_cunt_**!" She shrieked. The woman spat again, nothing but ice in her withered blue eyes.

I expected a call for guards, even a hidden grenade or pistol. What I didn't expect was a low, chilling laugh that burrowed its way into our hearts like a worm.

She laughed and laughed, smiling as blood trickled out of her mouth. "I've been fighting this war for a hundred and twenty years!" A liver-spotted, arthritic hand reached for her cane. "And you think you know anything about war?" She stood, shaking with pain. "About anything at all?"

"How could you?" Sakura asked, tears spilling down her face. "How could you kill that little girl?" Another laugh.

"Her and her brother were found with a Hegemony-issued mess kit. It's obvious they stole it from one of their victims." A pit opened up in my stomach.

No.

Sakura's mouth worked, trying to form a response. Be it an anguished cry or venomous invective, nothing came. Just more tears.

"You evil _bitch_!" I screamed. Now Sasuke and Hinata had to restrain me. I just wanted to put my boot in the woman's face. Mash it into the ground, break her, snap her neck, kill, kill, kill, kill, KILL!

Looking back on it now, that was one of my worst moments as _gunso_. I'd let my anger get a hold of me, and like I said before, if it wasn't for my friends holding me back, we never would have left that mall. But I didn't think of that then. My eyes only saw this old hag broken and dead before me.

The two guards cowered, pressing their faces into the ground to avoid meeting my gaze.

The woman stared back, unflinching.

"My name is Olivia Hutchins." She began with a calm hiss. The sheer resemblance to Sasuke almost shocked me out of my rage. Almost. "Third Martian Fleet, Captain of the HNS-_Prometheus_, Serial Number 0186735. Recipient of the Naval Star, the Purple Heart, and sixteen other various medals. I lost my first husband ninety years ago, and two weeks ago, I watched my second husband set alight for sport. I saw my great-grandchildren raped and murdered, and nearly everyone I know either starved to death or shot." She threw her arm across her desk, scattering her map projector, painting the walls in blue, transparent buildings. "AND YOU PRESUME TO QUESTION ME?" She roared, spittle flying in my face. "You're _his_ creations. _Monsters_. Over-grown, vat-born, _children_." She spat. "But monsters nonetheless."

"We didn't string dead kids up by their ankles!" Sakura screamed, reaching forward and shaking the woman.

"Did you see the civilians in the mall?" She replied, icy again. "What's left of my family is down there. What's left of _all_ of our families are down there. The rebels took our food and water, and when we fought them for it, they killed us. In the thousands. In the _hundreds_ of thousands!"

"The refugee camps-" I started.

"Death camps!" She cried. "You really are children! Believing everything your superiors told you about this horrid city. And that's what you've done your whole lives! Nodding and saluting like good soldier boys and girls. You aren't even human."

"It doesn't excuse-" Sakura countered, before Olivia cut her off.

"Those bodies you mentioned earlier? Did you think they were just random cruelties? Revenge-fueled atrocities?" She laughed, cold and spiteful. "It was a decision I made. A decision much like many others I've made in my century of service." Unconsciously, her hand went to the star on her lapel. "There's only eight thousand lives sealed in this mall. Those rebel dogs could wipe us out in minutes."

She paused.

"And do you know why they don't?" We couldn't answer her. "Because they're afraid!" She slammed her cane down. "They see the bodies of their comrades, their families! They _shit_ themselves in fear. And they _turn around_. Because of that, our families are allowed to live another day. Because of that, we can continue fighting for the Hegemony. Because of that, you can keep making your petty raids, not bothering your pretty, pampered little heads with the reality of war." She tore the necklace from her neck, throwing it in the dirt before Sakura.

"So take the necklace back, you pink-haired freak." She snapped. "I'm sure you've earned it."

For the longest time, we didn't reply. Olivia glared at us, not acknowledging the ribs that Sakura had most likely shattered.

"Your reasons are your own." I said, a part of me still wanting to tear her limb from limb. "Yet you still disgust me."

Neji spoke up.

"We'll have company here in about thirty seconds." Right. Time to wrap up.

"But something you wrote sticks with me. Judgment is falling from the stars. We'll come for you when this is over. And you'll pay for your crimes." She dismissed me with a slow wave of her hand, arthritic fingers bent and crooked.

"Oh, I know." She said, her mouth curing upwards in a smile full of broken, yellow ivory. "And I'll go to the gallows with a smile on my face, knowing I saved the lives of at least a few loyal citizens." In english, she snapped at one of her guards, who scrambled around before finding a small disc on the ground. "Data on the rebels. It's the best we can do for you children. It is _all_ we will do." He gave it to Sasuke. "Now get out." I waved my squad down, and left, just passing the partisans as they entered Olivia's tent.

No one spoke as left the mall, trying to ignore the partisans who approached us with camaraderie or the civilians who looked up at us with reverential awe.

We just felt sick and childish. Captain Hutchins was a demon, no doubt about it, but her words still bore fruit in our minds. And that disgusted us more than anything else.

We hurried through the surrounding streets, not looking at the tapestry of bodies draped around us. Well, my squad didn't. I did. I made the choice look at their faces, so I could remember them when Hutchins suffered true judgment. I took pictures, that I might be armed with proof when Olivia faces her betters.

I looked at Hinata. She was pretty, despite the detritus of war. Her lips were pulled taught in a bitter grimace. Even still, her face was a beam of sunlight on this horrid planet. She caught my eyes from the front of our group, smiling sadly while silent tears fell from her eyes.

"She's wrong, you know." I said to no one in particular.

"No shit, Nii-chan." Sakura seethed, her hand going to her mother's necklace. I shook my head.

"She was wrong about us." My squad perked up, looking at me with pleading eyes. "We're not children. We were, once. Until the Bombardment." Sasuke nodded. "But if she wants to think we're children for not being capable of this," I gestured around the street, "than I'll gladly be a kid for the rest of my life." A ripple of agreement went through my friends. They knew I was right, and I could feel their morale improving.

I called a halt once we left partisan territory, telling Hinata, Neji and Sasuke to keep watch. Slipping Olivia's disk into my data slate, I took a quick look at the information she gave us. Hinata stopped by to kiss my whiskers before she set up watch.

"Thanks for that little speech." She whispered. "That's why I fell for you, after all." I smiled back, but it felt weird doing so after trudging through the forest of corpses.

"Thanks." I sighed. "I needed that. A lot." She paused before returning a small smile of her own.

"I know." She walked to her place on top of a burned out car.

I must have been the luckiest guy in the galaxy.

Taking a real look at my data, there wasn't much in terms of volume, but there was some good stuff. GPS coordinates for an officer's barracks as well as AA emplacements, in addition to a few intercepted transmissions, and photos of the most fortified sections of Erebus. I hailed Shizu-chan.

"Shizu-chan, Shizu-chan, you reading me?" I frowned after a few seconds passed. Maybe she was sleeping. She had to rest sometime, even though dispatchers rarely left their stations to do so.

A grainy yawn came back. Lo and behold, a prophet.

"Am now! What's up, Naruto-kun?"

"I'm sending you some info we got from the partisans."

"You're not with them right now?" She asked, puzzled. Instead of replying directly, I sent her a few pictures. "Did... they do this?" She asked, her voice muffled by a hand over her mouth.

"Yes. We decided our work was best done apart from them."

"U-understood. I'll take any more data on this and start a report." Her fingers made a racket of tapping. "Ok."

"And this stuff?" I said, sending her the disk's contents.

"I'll ask Tsunade-sama." There was a pause in comms, when the sound of far-off small arms rattled. I surprised I noticed it anymore, considering I how much I'd heard it over the past three days.

"Hit the AA emplacements. We have reason to believe they're setting up the heavy stuff in preparation for our assault. How copy, _Gunso_."

"Loud and clear, Shizu-chan."

"Alright. I'll go back to sleep now. I was up all night getting a Suna team out of a sticky situation. Over."

"Copy that, Shizu-chan. Enjoy your nap, out."

My data slate beeped, and loaded new orders, as well as an updated map and navigational instructions.

"Ok, everyone listen up. We're raiding an AA station next." I sent them the info. There were ten flak cannons, and six surface-to-air missile systems, all situated near the mining districts, which shielded them from orbital attacks.

"We'll have to sneak in, because of this here." I circled a section of the map, which held orbital images of entrenched rebels, a black line of sandbags, pillboxes and countless tons of steel.

"Let's head over to this block here, where we can get a better view of the defenses, and consider an approach."

"Alright, let's go!" They snatched up their equipment, and hurried into a slight jog, stopping only to hide from the columns of rebels that marched through the street. They were going to the front lines, to hold off our brothers and sisters in arms, who were making their inexorable way into the heart of the city. The columns were too large to engage. We would kill a good number no doubt, but against all that firepower (not to mention the multitude of tanks), we'd be massacred.

I spoke with Hinata a little. It was hard finding much to say, though.

The street opened up, the street turning into a bridge that spanned an empty highway. A perfect killzone for snipers. I raised a fist, calling a halt. Everyone behind me tensed, no doubt thinking the same thing as me.

"If we rappel down to the road, we can probably make it across no problem." I said.

"The real problem is we don't know where the snipers are." Sakura said, her fingers wrapped tight around her Hellhound. "If there are any at all."

I peeked around the corner, assessing the crossing. There were a few office buildings looking over the gap, surrounded by pre-fabs. As I suspected, they weren't tall enough to shoot into the highway. The nearest ramp was too far away for a safer descent, as well as containing almost no cover. I didn't see anything else, because a flash of light erupted from a window. I threw myself back while the corner shattered apart.

"Naruto!" Hinata cried, eyes wide. The sniper's report reached us then, the distinctive echo of a Chi-Ko-Nu sniper rifle reaching around our cover.

"Aw, shit." I said, accepting Hinata's hand. She pulled me up, concern still etched deep on her face. I thanked her with a quick squeeze of her fingers and a smile. "Well, there's good news and bad news." The squad chuckled a bit. "We are now certain there is a sniper in the area and, apparently," I said, jerking my thumb at the hole in the corner, "he's a complete idiot."

"I figured as much." Sasuke added, inspecting the impact. "He fired at one of us, instead of waiting for us to be out in the open. And he missed." Sasuke said, mouth curling into a sneer. "I guess the real soldiers are out on the front lines."

Sakura nodded.

"There's several ways to approach this." She said.

"In any case, we need to get moving, cause he knows where we are. If he doesn't call in reinforcements, it'll be artillery." I fingered the grip of my M-34. "Lee. How about a challenge?"

The squad groaned, but Lee exploded with energetic fervor.

"I am ready for anything, _Gunso_!" He saluted vigorously, hand quivering in place above his forehead. If he wasn't the most dangerous hand-to-hand combatant I'd ever seen (speed notwithstanding), he'd be hard to take seriously.

"There's a downed walker about eighty paces to our one o'clock. It's the only cover you'll get before the highway." He understood immediately. He's far too quick to be hit, especially since our opponent was so obviously inexperienced. But he would try to shoot him regardless, at which point Lee would spot the muzzle flash, and we could pin him down. I didn't like putting Lee out there like this, but risking one man was better than risking everyone. After a short countdown, I waved him forward.

"Go, go, go!" I shouted. Lee dashed out in a blur of green, ludicrously fast.

"Ninth story!" He cried, following the echoing sniper shots. "West side, second window from the right!"

"Keep him down!" I shouted. "Move up one at a time!" Sakura dove out to the street, Hellhound braced. With a roar, she hammered its trigger, and rounds screamed downrange.

"SHANNNNAROOOO!"

"Go!" I patted Sasuke, who sprinted under the maelstrom of lead to join Lee.

"Go!" I sent Team 10 next, and that was when Sakura's weapon went dry. I hauled her back to cover, ignoring her protests.

"_Teme_! How's he looking?"

"No sign, dobe."

"Set up and sit his ass down if he pops his head up."

"Hn." I joined my squad then, sprinting behind the blackened husk of the walker. Sasuke had attached a scope to his rifle, and lay in the dirt just out of cover.

"Nothing yet." He hissed. Sakura finished reloading, racking the drum into place as the perforated barrels poured steam.

"You know, we make fun of him for being a newbie," Tenten said, "but we're just as green as him."

"Well we don't make stupid fucking mistakes." Kiba replied, sniffing the air.

"Enemy foot mobiles!" Sasuke said. "Same floor! I count... four! Engaging!"

"Spot him, and assist where you can." I told Hinata. She nodded reaching into her rucksack and clicking a scope onto her rifle. Taking a thin wire between her fingers, she plugged the scope into a pin-sized socket near her temple. Yet another useful ability of the Byakugan. Man, why did I pick that stupid pain thing? Balancing the rifle on the walker's legs, she scanned the building from the safety of our cover.

The distant rumble of artillery rang out like a distant storm. We tensed, unconsciously pressing ourselves against the sun-seared metal. My stomach dropped to the tune of a piercing whistle.

"GET DOWN!" I roared, pulling Hinata into a protective embrace. A flash of heat surged behind us, and the building we'd cowered behind only moments before was vaporized in a blinding flash.

Bits of wall and chunks of dirt rained down, covering us all in a thin film of red debris.

"Anyone hurt?" I asked. Besides a few coughs, they were fine. I got all thumbs up and a few muttered negatives.

Sasuke fired.

"Confirm hit on target, third window."

"Hit confirmed." Hinata said, still slightly shaken.

"We can't stay here!" Sakura said clenching my arm.

"I know." I turned to everyone else. "So, let's put it to a vote. We stay here and wait for certain death, or get the hell out of Dodge in the face of _possible_ death." A few smiles. It was loaded question, I admit.

"You and your dramatics, _dobe_." Sasuke whispered into his scope. "I spot three additional foot mobiles, how copy?" Hinata's rifle roared, bouncing a brass casing off my helmet.

"I see two, confirm." A pause.

"Confirmed." I pecked Hinata's cheek, earning myself a small blush.

"Alright, Kosenjobi! Let's go! Get that cabling secured!" I pointed to Neji and Tenten. "Sakura, get ready to provide covering fire! Team Ten, assist her!" I found Kiba dropping an incendiary rocket into his launcher. I grinned. "Kiba, you read my mind." Sasuke fired two more times in quick succession.

"There's more coming!" Hinata said, adjusting her rifle. Bullets whizzed and pinged off the walker. They found us.

"Gah!" Sasuke grunted in pain. He rolled into cover, blood running down his face and into his lips. "I'm fine, just a bit ob brogen meddal." He said through the blood. Sakura's panicked look vanished immediately.

"You got lucky, _teme_." He spat out blood in a thin stream before wiping his face. A gash on his cheek revealed itself before swallowing his lips in blood again.

"Shuddub."

"How's the cable?" Tenten hurled the anchor over the walker and down into the highway below.

"Good to go, Gunso!"

"Kiba... let 'em have it." He grinned with feral glee, a smile made demonic by the red tattoos that almost reached his teeth. "Covering fiiiiiire!" We burst out, shooting at the specks that darted inside the office building. Kiba kneeled by the cockpit.

"Target acquired, missile away." He pulled the trigger.

_Thwunk-foooooooosh_. A trail of white smoke sailed into the air before screaming towards the enemy position. With a distant boom, flames ripped through the building, and distant burning forms spilled out of broken windows.

Another artillery shell landed, a little beyond our original position. If we didn't get going, it wouldn't be long before we'd be shredded into ground beef.

"Fireteam Nine, go!" They vaulted over the walker and hurled themselves down the cable.

The deafening roar of covering fire forced me to use comms.

"Fireteam Ten!" Still firing at the windows, they bolted to the cable.

"Eight, go!" Hinata yanked the wire out of her head and followed Shino over the top. Kiba strapped Akamaru back on and dived down after her.

"Seven, let's get the hell out of here!" I ran out from the side, guiding a still-bleeding Sasuke to the rappelling site. I vaulted over the side once I saw Sakura had helped Sasuke do the same.

The metal cable dug into my hand, but I held tight. It was a long way down. I turned around. We were still in sight of the rebels, but not for long.

I jumped down as soon as it was safe to do so, screaming at my squad to get going. Tenten retracted the wire, and it whipped back into a neat coil on her waist.

We sprinted into the highway, running between burned-out metal husks that may have once been drivable vehicles. They were all full of charred skeletons.

We jumped over the impact craters, two-meter wide holes surrounded by shattered asphalt. By the time we were halfway across, the rebel fire had vanished.

"Nicely done!" I cried. Winded, my squad agreed, silently or otherwise (Lee was otherwise). But I saw some smiles. It was nice being alive, a gift I truly appreciated after this morning.

A sigh escaped me as we continued. Olivia. Olivia Hutchins. I kicked a chunk of pavement. Sakura was dabbing some med-foam on Sasuke, giving him a weak smile. He returned it in the form of a grimace, or at least one that (if you squinted hard enough) looked like a grin.

Lovebirds.

I chuckled to myself. Olivia had her own ideas about war, and we had ours. _I much prefer ours_, I thought, accepting a relieved kiss from Hinata.

* * *

**A/N: So yeah. There it is. Maybe a similar character has existed in another medium, another story, but I haven't seen it yet. If I ripped something off, probably best you let me know. Anyway, Captain Hutchins is probably one of the most complex characters I've come up with. If that sounds like I'm just tooting my own horn over here, I apologize, that's not what I meant to convey. Personally she's fascinating to me because I simply can't fathom her. And I _CREATED_ her! **

**I don't know what to think of her. I can't imagine what her thought process is. I don't even know her _motives_. To be perfectly honest, she doesn't really belong in fanfiction. But there you go.**

**In the original story, the squad is forced to interact _way_ more with the partisans, but for the purposes of this fan-fiction, it didn't suit the characters. The Konoha 12 have an established moral high-ground. It didn't seem right that they'd stick around.**

**If there was ever a time for reviews, this would be it. What do you guys think? Your interpretation's as good as mine.**


	16. Interlude VIII

**A/N: My favorite interlude! :D Sorry it's a bit on the short side. Sung to the tune of "Arty, Arty, Where Ya Been?" (First video that pops up on youtube, starts a minute in, for those curious.)**

**Reivew Replies: Note, tenneyshoe's is almost an interlude in itself... read it if you want some more info. :)**

**ImmaGuest: Welcome back! Glad you like it! And sorry, but since this is set up as Naruto's memoirs, there aren't any chapters from another perspective. Well... there's one 'omake' chapter of sorts that will show up, but it'll be a surprise who's behind it. :) Can't wait to share the rest of the story!**

****MYK-ON: Crazy's one way of putting it!****

**tenneyshoes: Sorry for the wall of text, but here goes: Thanks again for your review and questions... I'll answer them best I can! First off, everyone on both sides of the conflict adhere to GST (Galactic Standard Time), which is based off of Earth's calendar, but is rounded off to 25 hours a day, 375 days a year. Captain Hutchins is not 120 years old, she's 142. She enlisted when she was twenty-two after four years at a Naval Academy. Her extreme age is fairly common at this point in the 'Warborn' universe, where medical technology can keep a person until their second century. But as to her relationship with Quiet Dunes, it's her homeworld, and she was on leave (SHE'S _STILL_ IN THE MILITARY) when the rebels conquered Quiet Dunes, trapping her. (It was originally a loyalist colony) **

**As to the tattoos, there's some explanation required. Since Unification dragged on for so long, the idea of whole filial generations leaving a legacy across countless battlefields drew serious traction halfway through the war. Especially after the Warborn program started in the thirtieth decade of war. So naturally, introducing the clans from the Naruto-verse were a drag-and-drop process (and one of the reasons I chose Naruto over something else). The tattoos are a part of this tradition, as well as nearly every Warborn soldier. Tattoos are usually obtained by acolytes when they are fifteen, and are seen as a reflection of who they are and what they represent, often times having hidden, deeply personal. meaning. It's all up to the recipient. Clan descendants, called "Legacies", often have traditional familial tattoos: The Inuzuka have the 'tear' marks, the Aburame have honeycomb patterns. The Nara have their shoulders colored entirely black, with pointed black tendrils that snake down to reach their wrists. The Yamanaka have a circle of dots on the crown of their heads, which are almost always hidden by hair. The Akimichi have their swirly patterns on their cheek, or butterflies over their hearts. The Hyuuga, however, have their clan symbol at the base of their neck. Then why does Hinata have something different, you ask? Because like her canon counterpart, she doesn't identify very well with the Hyuuga as a whole. Instead, her tattoo represents what her byakugan means to her. Instead of being weirded out or ashamed of her eyes, she sees beauty in the efficiency and practicality of them. The cybernetic pattern reflects this: it is sleek and efficient, but beautiful in its simplicity (as well as being a reference to the nature of her eyes). As for Naruto, like canon, he doesn't really know where his whiskers are from. Sakura has her green diamond, (_green_ for health and medicine, her specialty, and diamond-shaped for her unbreakable resolve). Sasuke has his curse mark, although the reasoning behind it is entirely different (three tomoe for the remaining Uchiha clan members), seeing it as a 'curse' of loneliness and loss. Tenten has barbed wire coiled around her left forearm. Not all of the Konoha 12 have tattoos, however. Ino, Lee and Neji decided to remain tattoo-free. **

**That's it for the lore section of the reply. I couldn't write that information into the story without bogging it down, and there's no way this info would fit into an interlude without sounding stilted. So I didn't bother.**

**As to Naruto and Hinata's relationship, they're going to keep things practical for the warzone, and their relationship is incredibly important to the themes of the story. However, TtSG is very light on fluff. The story is too tightly packed and condensed to warrant too much time invested in exploring their relationship. Sorry to those who are disappointed by that, but don't worry, NaruHina is very important to the story. You'll get plenty. :)**

**Thanks for all your questions! I'm so thrilled that you like the story, you have no idea. I'm still fangirling a bit over it!**

**Disclaimer: I own the song, but not the Naruto names.**

* * *

Interlude 8

**Marine Marching Cadence "Oh-Four-Ten". Recorded near Konoha, Babel: October 25th, 2554, during morning drill. Sung by Gunnery Sergeant Anko Mitarashi and her cadets, Kosenjobi Squad. Translated by Ethan Gurodo.**

Got an orbital drop at oh-four-ten!

Gonna get my boots, thank God, Amen!

Ready to kill since day oh-one!

Leave a trail of dead 'cross a thousand suns!

We are Warborn through and through!

Born to kill, and that's what we'll do!

Locked and loaded and ready to go!

Let's go Marines, let's give 'em a show!

Hit the ground with my M-thirty four!

Gonna shoot those rebs, that's what it's for!

Don't care where and don't care when!

We'll go to hell and back again!

Now if I die all bloody red!

Bury me deep in rebel dead!

Ay-oh combat, where you at?!

I'm itchin' to fight those rebel rats!

So take me out to the black!

Tell my ma I ain't comin' back!

Cause I got a drop at oh-four-ten!

Gonna get my boots, thank God, Amen!

* * *

**A/N: Inspired by Full Metal Jacket. :) Personally, I can totally hear Anko's english VA or maybe Jennifer Hale leading a cadence.**

**What do you think? :D**


	17. Traed o flaen i'r Annwn!

**A/N: We're back in Erebus, everyone. Hold on to your butts and stay frosty.**

**Review Replies: **

**ARougeWarrior: Yay! Thank you so much for your kind words! They all have a 'baseline' of genetic enhancements that they received as an embryo. In this version of the story, any further genetic manipulation is introduced via the 'gen-mods'. And no, Danzo doesn't show up. He does get a name drop though. :)**

**iyoayos: I'm glad you like the story! So many times I see combat portrayed like it is in movies and video games, and it's just... bleh. Bugs me. Tried to fix that here. :) And one of the things that features heavily in most of my military fiction is the introduction of women into combat roles. Yes, fraternization is highly discouraged and frequently dangerous, but when you put people into combat, it's a crucible. Relationships and whatnot are bound to happen, no matter what you're told. Because when you strip away everything that makes someone a soldier, they're still human beings. As to Captain Hutchins, she wasn't inspired by any particular organization (but was actually inspired mostly by Vlad the Impaler!), but I ****definitely see the connections now. And yes, Naruto did his very best to execute her. However, the partisans see Hutchins as their savior (even knowing what she's done), and killing her would have meant their deaths. Deep down, no matter how much he may have wanted to, he couldn't trade his squadmates' lives in order to serve justice to a deserving subject. And I did not know about Robin Sage. Disturbing is an understatement.**

**tenneyshoes: Anko's a good sport, ain't she? And no problem! I love answering your guys' questions!**

**Cover Image by u/BendyWend**

**Disclaimer: I own most of this, just not the Naruto bits.**

* * *

**Chapter 9 Traed o flaen i'r Annwn!**

Two more shells fell on the bridge, shaking debris loose onto the highway. We were safe for now, but we'd still have to crest the drop.

I decided to take a detour and find a ramp up to the streets of Erebus. If we scaled the sheer edge of the highway, we'd be lit up the second our heads poked over the edge.

The clicks and metallic snaps of reloading weapons echoed under the bridge. I checked my webbing. Eighteen mags left. I tucked the expended ones into my pack. If I was lucky, I could refill them later. I'd be fine for a while, but if we ran into real trouble, I'd run out pretty fast. My headset crackled.

"Naruto-kun, be advised, there's a sandstorm moving into town at a hundred kilometers per hour."

"Copy that, Shizu-chan."

"Advise finding immediate cover."

"Interrogative: how long until it arrives?"

"Ten minutes. I'm sorry for not warning you earlier. They brew fast here."

"We'll survive. Naruto out." I called a halt, and turned to face my squad. The wind had picked up, flapping our fatigues against our skin. Red sand sifted and roiled around us, disturbed from its resting place by the gales.

"We got an incoming sandstorm! Get your H.E. suits out and your masks ready!" They unpacked their hazardous environment gear, getting ready to suit up at a moment's notice.

"Double time!" We picked up the pace. Where the highway met the edge of Erebus, a red cloud began to engulf the city. The wind began to howl in earnest, almost bowling us over, even in eighty kilograms of gear.

"Suit up!" I screamed through comms. I ripped my helmet off, and strapped my gas mask on. The filter activated, and clean air filled my lungs for the first time since our drop. After trapping the rubber boots and gloves on, I hit a button on my wrist, and my fatigues tightened, the air escaping through vents on my armor. I was sealed off.

Sasuke was the last to pull his mask down, putting a final strip of gauze on his cheek before his face disappeared behind the mask's ebony visage.

"Squad suited up." Sakura said through comms. If not for her size, it'd be hard to pick her out. The masks obscured everyone's face behind a one-way sheet of black metal, an intimidating and uniform visage.

We continued our jog to the ramp as the storm neared, a single-file trail of black and blue uniforms in the shadow of a swirling red monster. I called a halt as we reached our destination.

"Let's wait for the storm before we go up. We'll be safe from enemy fire that way."

"What about our own visibility?" Neji asked. "Hinata-neesan and I can see regardless, but the rest of you will be handicapped. And if we get separated, we can't rely our data slates or comms to reunite." I frowned. I didn't think about this. If the storm was as bad as it looked, we wouldn't be able to see each other, let alone any rebels.

"We could wait here." Ino suggested.

"We could, but we'd be safer indoors." Shikamaru said. "Our best bet are tethers. We still can't see, but at least we won't get separated." Like all Marines, Warborn had been instructed in EVA combat. In the instance of radio silence, we had learned how to communicate in the blackness of space via our tethering cables. Of course our resident genius comes up with such an elegant solution.

"Nice thinking. Everyone, use your ropes, and hook onto the person in front of you. Hurry!" I urged them. The storm had reached the highway, devouring the road in a dark, cloudy haze. They did as they were told, extracting their ropes with haste. Tying themselves together, they patted the soldier in front of them, letting them know they were connected.

And in a burst of wind, the sandstorm hit us. Visibility dropped to zero, and I could feel the biting, swirling sand hammer against my suit. I checked my filters. No sand buildup.

"Move up!" Taking steps would have been impossible for a normal man. As it was, we were able to struggle against the gales, taking slow and careful steps up the ramp.

I was in the lead, forging a path between the debris that materialized out of the storm. I checked behind me. Everyone held their rifles at the ready, pressing them tight into their shoulders.

All Marine rifles were certified for hostile environments such as these. No matter what, submersion, sand, dirt, grease, blood, they'd fire until the ammo's gone. The problem in this case was finding something to hit.

We crested the ramp, entering the main streets of Erebus. The storm was no better up here. The office building that had sheltered the rebels was invisible past the ground floor. I couldn't spot the door yet.

"Come on, keep going. Let's get inside!" I shouted. Despite the earpieces in everyone wore, the roaring storm made it impossible to hear.

"Get down!" Neji screamed. We dropped to a crouch. Not in time. A downed traffic light crashed into Chouji, knocking him out cold. His mask flew off, and the sand tore at his exposed face. Falling over, he skidded across the pavement, caught in the storm. I felt a sharp jolt as his weight pulled the ropes tight, almost throwing us down.

"Bring him back!" I yelled. They were already on it. Sakura had both hands on his rope, hauling him back from the winds. Sasuke had an arm around her waist, keeping her firmly anchored to her spot. Ino and Shikamaru helped reel their teammate in.

I was keeping a lookout, best I could in this impossible storm.

"Get a mask ready!" Shikamaru said. I dug a spare one out of my pack, passing it down the line.

With a strained cry, they brought Chouji back. He was choking, sand filling his mouth and lungs.

Ino dived down, getting the mask on him before her knees hit the ground. Pressing a few buttons, she reestablished the seal.

"Let's get him inside!" They looked at me. What was wrong?

"We-kkkkkkk-eed to g-kkk." Shikamaru said through comms, which was apparently on the fritz. Of course.

I tugged the line twice. Follow. Sasuke acknowledged the order by tapping the line three times. Fighting the buffeting wind and sharp, stinging sand, I pushed forward to the nearest cover: the office building.

The metal shuttering that barred our way refused to budge, despite my best efforts. I brought Sakura up, but not even she could break through the sealed entryway. I could see Chouji coughing and wheezing, even if the storm prevented me from hearing him.

Fuck it.

With a few short gestures, I got my squad to take cover. I ripped a shaped charge from my webbing. Sticking it to the door, I joined my squad and flashed three fingers. Door breaching maneuver 3. They passed the sign on.

The ground shook when it exploded, and the explosion reached our ears despite the howling.

I went in, checking the corners for rebel soldiers. Empty. Looking around, I could tell that hadn't always been the case. Broken furniture surrounded cook fires, which still burned bright.

Pushing my mask up, I gave orders. Watch the openings. Sakura, take care of Chouji. Red sand spilled in from the hole we had made, filling the plush carpet and stirring loose papers.

"Hinata, Neji, see anything on thermal?"

"No sir."

"Nothing, Naruto-kun." Kiba's head perked up the instant he took his mask off.

"They were here all right. Reeks of them."

"Get on the horn with Shizune. We need to know how long this storm will last." Sakura finished assessing Chouji, and screwed a vial into her injector.

"Can't reach her. Comms are still down." Sasuke said.

Sakura plunged the injector into Chouji's neck, filling his bloodstream with diluted adrenaline. He sat up, screaming before succumbing to a rattling cough.

"Water." He managed. Shikamaru gave him his canteen, unscrewing the top with shaking fingers.

"Troublesome." He said, before lighting a cigarette.

"Don't get comfortable." I said. "We need to get out of here. It's not safe. Plus, we can use this storm as cover for our assault on the AA emplacements. No need to go out of our way to find a better way in." Kiba nodded.

"This place reeks. Death. Fear. Whole nine yards." He said. He was right, even if my sense of smell wasn't nearly as good.

"I don't know how I feel about going out there again." Ino said. Chouji slurped at the canteen, punctuating her point.

Hinata pushed her fingers together. She was either deep in thought, or too shy to say anything. I nudged her.

"I agree with Naruto-kun. With the storm, we can destroy the emplacements, while remaining almost invisible." Ino snorted.

"Of course you're going to agree with your boyfriend." She said. Hinata blushed, but looked directly at Ino.

"If Naruto-kun is in the wrong, I'll be the first to tell him." She replied.

"Sorry, Hinata," Sakura said with a big grin on her face, "but there's a line for that."

"Hn." Sasuke said, wincing as Sakura dabbed at the gash on his cheek.

"You're the most disrespectful squad I've ever had the misfortune to lead." I huffed, crossing my arms.

"Don't worry about me," Chouji piped up, "I'm good to go." He gave a weak smile through a grime-stained face.

"Probably best if we minimize our time spent outside." Neji said. "The storm is dangerous, and that's without the potential for more flying debris." Chouji rubbed the bruise forming on the back of his head. He was jittery from the adrenaline, shaking and clenching his fists while he rocked back and forth.

"Let's get out of here." Kiba said, his face screwed up in disgust.

"Good idea. Let's go. Stay frosty." We pulled our masks down, once again losing our faces to the black metal. Creeping through the building, we found an emergency exit. I cracked it open, wincing when the storm tried to slam it shut, throwing sand into the room. Sakura pushed it forward more, and it opened enough to take a look at the alleyway.

Sand obscured most of my vision, but I could make out a pre-fab about ten meters away, with a door facing us.

"There's a door up there. Let's get there ASAP. Breach and clear in case anyone's waiting." I paused.

"Check your tethers, and get ready to move on my mark." A slight tugging meant we were good to go. "Mark!" I yelled through my mask.

We filed out into the street, bracing ourselves against the whirling sands. Each step required a massive amount of willpower and effort. One slip up, one overextended step, and you'd be swallowed.

As we neared the building, I felt a sharp tug on my rope. Halt. Turning around, I saw Sasuke hold up four fingers. Enemies. He pointed to the wall four times. I waved an open hand in a tight circle before pulling it down into a fist. Execute.

We dropped to a firing position and opened up. Dozens of holes sprouted in the wall before being filled by sand.

Three rapid tugs. Good to go. I waved everyone forward to the door. Chouji stepped forward to be our point man but Kiba waved him off. I nodded. Chouji wasn't 100% yet, as the adrenaline was still working its way through him.

Kiba counted down from three before kicking the door in. The wind threw it open, and he burst inside, rifle at the ready.

_Click._

An automatic shotgun roared, blasting six shells into Kiba's side. He crashed to the floor.

"KIBA!" I can't remember who screamed. I felt a biting sensation but it felt distant, alien.

Dashing inside, I saw four corpses, one draped over a shotgun attached to some broken tripwire. And then I saw Kiba. What was _left_ of Kiba.

His remaining arm pumped uselessly in the air, clawing at something only he could see. If he had lungs or a chest, he would have screamed. Blood covered the wall in thick, horrible splashes.

"Kiba!" Someone else screamed. Hinata maybe? Shock made it impossible to tell. Was this real? All of a sudden, I was convinced I was in the middle of a nightmare.

Can't be. No. Sakura was hunched over the body, breathing rescue breaths with all of her might. I was amazed there were lips left to press against.

"Naruto!" That's my name. _Gunso_ Naruto Uzumaki. Probably Hinata waking me up. I breathed a sigh of relief. Olivia, Kiba, all a horrid dream. I swore I had set an alarm...

"Naruto!" The form in front of me pushed the mask up, revealing a pair of pale eyes that shimmered with tears. "Naruto, Kiba... oh _God_." Hinata looked up at me. So not a dream. This was real. It was happening. I think Ino vomited.

Akamaru, Kiba's rocket launcher, was twisted and broken as well. It made sense in a way. He'd gotten it when he was thirteen, when we received our squad roles. He took to it immediately. I'd have been obligated to take it if it was still intact, but... it belonged to Kiba, and it'd pass with Kiba.

Shino was impossible to read from behind his mask. He stooped and pulled Sakura away from the corpse, shaking his head.

Sasuke approached me, grenade in hand.

"Sasuke," I started, barely able to choke the words out. "I-" He shook his head.

"_Dobe_. I'll spare you this one." His Sharingan made his eyes difficult to read, but grief seeped from him in choking waves. I sniffled, drowning in the loss that strangled us all. Sasuke is trying to help. Losses were inevitable, but... _fuck_. It hurt so much.

We couldn't stay here. That much was certain. Kiba was gone, but if we didn't finish the mission, he died for nothing.

"Kosenjobi, get ready to step off."

"Naruto!" Sakura cried, looking at me with desperate, pleading eyes. "We can't just. You know. Leave." A rattling sigh escaped her.

"We're not doing anyone any good by staying here. Not doing him any favors either." I said under my breath. I nodded at Sasuke. He stooped over the body, while Hinata closed his remaining eye.

We snapped a crisp salute, standing a brief watch over the corpse of our comrade. Our brother. It felt awful leaving him, but we didn't have a choice.

Sasuke set the charge, and pulled the pin.

"Masks on." I cried, as we fled the house. The storm raged on, oblivious to our grief. I felt the burst of heat behind us, but didn't turn to see the house engulfed in flame. It was a Viking farewell, a Warborn farewell. There would be time to remember later.

We didn't seek shelter from the storm anymore. I tried to stay frosty, stay alert. But my mind turned to the past.

* * *

"Again!" Gai-sensei boomed, a wide, eager smile on his face.

Sparring practice, a year since I arrived at the Academy.

I rushed my opponent, bringing my arm around to knock him off guard. He blocked it easily, bringing a forearm around to block my strike. I brought another fist into his stomach, but he grabbed my wrist. Game over. He spun my arm around, forcing me to twist around. My head jerked back, and a plastic training knife slid across my throat.

"Inu-kuuun!" I whined. Another loss.

"Ah, shut it, Whisker-kun." Kiba said, pushing me forward. "You really suck at this." I scowled. "Just be glad you didn't get paired with Lee."

Lee stood over Chouji, who was ass-up, his arms held in a vicious pin, while Lee's foot pushed his face into the mats. A purpling bruise was growing on Chouji's arm.

"Excellent work, Lee!" Gai-sensei cried.

"Thank you, Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

Kiba and I looked at each other before giggling.

"You have a point, Inu-kun." I said. "But I'm not scared to try again!" He closed the distance between us, before taking a big whiff.

"Yes you are! I can smell it!" He said proudly.

I punched him in the stomach.

"Owww! That was mean, Whisker-kun!" He whimpered.

He surprised me by sweeping my legs out from under me, causing me to smack my head against the gym mats.

It didn't hurt, a sensation that I was still getting used to.

"Ok, ok, you've made your point!" I hopped back up. "Let's go again!" He charged me with his knife. I managed to push his arms away and stepped to the side, where a fist was waiting. Hello again, mat.

"You just don't give up, do you?" He crowed. I had learned my lesson. My foot flew out, knocking his legs aside. He yelped when I pounced, bringing my knife a centimeter away from his throat.

"Nope!" I beamed. Hopping off, I extended a hand. He took it with his usual grin, settling into a stance when he was back on his feet.

"Again!" Gai screamed, and the gym was full of struggling grunts and shouts. Kiba trounced me once again with little effort, and I felt plastic across my throat.

"Stay balanced next time, Naruto-kun."

"Naruto-kun?" I asked, giving him a leering smile.

"I mean... uh... Whisker-kun!"

"Whatever you say!" I smiled. I didn't talk to him too much, but for the first time, I was enjoying our taijutsu training. Extending a hand, I flashed him my biggest smile. "Friends?" He hesitated a moment before laughing and shaking my hand vigorously.

"Friends." I took the opportunity to twist his arm around, dragging him to the floor in a steel-strong hold.

He was speechless. His red tattoos quivered a bit, before he burst into laughter. I joined him, rolling around on the mat.

"Naruto! Kiba!" Gai-sensei cried. "It is time for training, not laughter! I appreciate your sincere enjoyment of such youthful sparring, but if you do not continue the drill, you must run laps!"

"Ooh! Gai-sensei, may I run as well?"

"Of course, Lee, my most dedicated student!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

Needless to say, we had to run laps. I didn't care. I made another friend.

* * *

More sand tore at me, reeling me back from my memories.

It was then I noticed I was weeping.

* * *

**A/N: "Feet first into Hell."**


	18. Interlude IX

**A/N: Holy crap, Naruto's ending next week... just... wow. Also, thank you guys so much for your awesome reviews! The support is incredible, and much appreciated. :) Sorry for the short interlude.**

**Review Replies:**

**ARougeWarrior: That's... really not a good choice. I guess the Warborn are a tad closer to Captain America, since their modifications aren't bat-shit crazy like the Spartan II's. **

**iyaoyas: Pretty much why Kiba died, but your interpretation of events makes me think I left a few things unclear. Naruto didn't have Hinata or Neji check the house for hostiles because they already did (and shot up the four targets in there). And the only reason they could see them is because the byakugan has an heat-vision function. It can't just see through walls (i.e. and see the 'cold' trap waiting for them. And Sasuke didn't booby-trap the body, they burned it immediately. It looks like I'll need to make some edits... Thanks so much for the praise! It's too much! XD**

**MYK-ON: Yeah. *sniff*. Rest in pieces.**

**SilentObserver: Wow, thanks so much for your awesome review and continued support! :D I'm thrilled you like the story.**

**tenneyshoes: Yeah, a few BBs grazed him. But he's so consumed by everything else, he doesn't comment on it until a little later. And as to the origin of the phrase 'Stay Frosty', iyaoyas answered you in his review. Thanks again for your review! It's so awesome that you're a fan!**

* * *

Interlude 9

**Excerpt from ****_Unification: An In-Depth Analysis And History_**** by Dr. Duncan. S. Thompson of Olympus University, Dr. Yiang Xu of Olympus University and Dr. Naota Haruno of Oxford University. **_**Chapter 22.8 Equipment and Inventions of Unification: Section 8 - The Walker**_

Popular science fiction of the 21st and 22nd centuries introduced the concept of mechanized walking fighting vehicles, which have captivated the imagination of the populace ever since. The fascination eventually turned into actual military application when the first functional Mobile Mechanized Weapons Platform rolled off assembly lines in 2198. The name 'Walker' was used to describe its heavy, earth-shaking strides, and has remained in popular usage since. Usually standing at ten or eleven meters tall, walkers are equipped with a bevy of heavy weaponry, ranging from simple .50 caliber autocannons to technologically advanced and massively destructive rail cannons. Anti-Air capabilities such as surface to air missile pods or SNTNL laser systems are often equipped as well. This is a sharp contrast to its original designated purpose: riot control and other domestic, planet-wide conflicts.

At first, these machines were ponderous and unwieldy, moving at top speeds of 40 km/hr. With the invention of grav-lift booster jets and more efficient movement mechanics, they became a fearsome sight on the battlefield. Able to jump dozens of meters and sprint at 128 km/h, as well as having the ability to maneuver in more treacherous terrain than treaded or wheeled vehicles, walkers are the most mobile, most effective piece of Planetary Forces technology on the battlefield.

The most famous Walker Aces are the famed "Sand Siblings", warborn (see Ch. 28 Section 2 for more) pilots from the desert planet Sunagakure. Together, they are credited for more casualties than several invasions in their entirety. Temari is the most well-known of the three, and she is still actively engaged in Walker engineering, piloting, and strategic development.

* * *

**A/N: Come on, I can't do military sci-fi and not have walkers! And for what it's worth, the other novel I wrote for the 'Warborn' universe is about a squad of walker pilots. However I won't be converting that one anytime soon.**

**Thanks so much for your reviews and support! You guys rock!**


	19. At What Price?

**A/N: Everyone ready for more sunshine and rainbows? :D**

**Review Replies:**

**dksamuri: Glad you like the story! I tried my best to polish the story before I put it up. :) The name of the book that this story comes from is called "Fractured Minds and Patchwork People" (Also the title of the penultimate chapter of this story). The first book I don't have a good name for yet.**

**tenneyshoes: Prreeettty far off-base. The Walkers in the Warborn universe are (cosmetically, at least) similar to those found in Hawken or Mecha Front. They're smaller and more squat than those found in Star Wars. Also, they're constructed with practicality in mind (i.e. they don't look like people). Thanks for the questions!**

**Cover Image by u/BendyWend**

**Disclaimer: I own everything that doesn't come from Naruto.**

* * *

**Chapter 10: At What Price?**

It still didn't feel real. My body was numb to everything that surrounded me. The storm, the pre-fabs, the partially-buried corpses that lay in the streets. My left arm was soaked and matted with blood, but I didn't know whose.

Comms crackled back to life.

"Naruto-kun, kkkk you c-c-copy?" The signal was weak, but Shizu-chan had pulled through.

"I copy you." There was a pregnant pause.

"I'm sorry, kkkkkk." Shizu-chan said. She knew. She had to. She was wired into the gear that monitored our vitals. Kiba's were dark. "How...goes the mission?" I sighed.

"We approaching rebel lines in a bit. Hard to tell with the storm. Movement is heavily impeded."

"Hard copy, Naruto-kun. Good luck. HQ out."

"Out." I murmured. "Can everyone hear me?" They gave me affirmatives in voices ragged with strain and grief.

"Map." I said to myself. My map popped up on my HUD. It wasn't the nice, updated version on tac-net, but it did its job. "Zoom on location." Eleven blue dots on the cusp of a long, crimson dash. The rebel entrenchments.

Eleven dots, not twelve. I shook my head. _Stop it_, I told myself._ If you don't focus up, it won't just be Kiba_. I imagined Sakura, Hinata, or Sasuke with that same glassy look.

That shook me out of it. Grieve later. Now, we have to _succeed_.

"We got ten meters until rebel lines! Keep your heads on a swivel!"

A Hoplite materialized out of the red haze, barrel pointed down the street. At us.

"Down!" I cried. We flattened, heads pressed tight into the asphalt. Nothing. I looked up.

"Stay low!" I crawled forward, keeping my eye on the Hoplite.

I waved my hand out with two fingers, gesturing to each side of the tank, then made a snipping motion. Hopefully, they could see my orders.

"Acknowledged." All of our training told us to whisper, but the howling winds made that impossible.

I wormed in between the tank treads, with Sasuke right next to me. At the back of the tank, forms sat wrapped in a blanket, huddling against the storm. I tapped Sasuke, who gave me a slow nod.

We removed our knives. As one, we pulled the forms under the tank, digging steel into their necks. Blood poured over our hands and into the red sands. I relished the warm glow it gave me. Not just duty, not just survival, but revenge.

I dropped the corpse, feeling sick. I don't know why, but I thought of Sasuke briefly. We had lost Kiba, but he lost his entire family… I shook the thought away and pressed on.

We squeezed out from underneath the tank. A few more bodies were sprawled in the sand, threatening to blow away in the storm.

Sakura and Shino were waiting for us. She handed me a satchel charge.

"We'll detonate it once the storm clears." I nodded, ducking down to stick the charge underneath the Hoplite. A nasty surprise, if they lived long enough to register what happened.

"Blockade ahead." Hinata said. "About twenty meters."

"Thanks, Hinata-chan." Throwing a grenade behind it was pointless, it'd get sucked away by the gale. We had to go over the top.

"Everyone, silencers! Neji, Tenten, this one's yours."

"We're on it, _Gunso_!" Attaching small metal tubes to a pistol and a submachine gun, they crept towards the defensive line. Ten Growlers stood bumper-to-bumper, unmanned turrets pointing outward.

"Go!" They jumped over. If I strained myself, I could hear the muted coughs of silenced weapons, barely audible over the roaring winds.

Four seconds, then a wave.

"All clear, Sir." Neji said. We crawled over the vehicles, falling onto the corpses of storm-battered rebels. Sakura offered me another charge.

"Just the tank should do. Let's save those for the AA." I said. She hesitated, before nodding and slipping it back into her webbing. I understood she wanted to see things fry, but we still had a mission.

I checked the map. We were about fifteen minutes away from our target.

"Shizu-chan, interrogative: how much longer do we have on this storm?" Comms hissed and crackled, before a tinny Shizune sounded out.

"It's hard to tell with the shifting winds, but approximately thirty more minutes, over."

"Copy that, Shizu-chan. Closing in on the objective now, out."

"We're on the move guys, let's go." I waved them forward. Our pace was even slower than before, now that we were behind a closely guarded rebel cordon.

"Hostiles at our twelve." Hinata said. Looking ahead a few dozen paces, I saw a group of rebels in gas masks, fighting the wind as best they could. They were almost impossible to see, but I didn't know how good their optics were.

"Down!" I yelled. We flattened. "How many?"

"About twelve!" She replied.

"Cooy that! Light 'em up."

"Roger that, Naruto-gunso."

They obeyed immediately, cutting the rebels down in short, controlled bursts. Blood spurted from their tumbling forms, joining with the sand mid-flight. We inched forward, careful to check that they were indeed dead.

One man was left, his mask shattered by one of our bullets. A brown eye stared up at me, doing its best to blink away the torrent of sand.

I raised my pistol.

"I surrender!"

Two short blasts, and his face caved in.

We trudged to the objective, still linked via our tethers. Finally, the AA station came into view, hidden from the storm by a few mining spires which kept the worst of it at bay. Huge black barrels pointed into the sky, while sandbag bunkers waited at the end of streets, blocking the entrance. It'd be tough to break in, but if we gave up now, Kiba's death would have been for nothing.

The ground shook beneath us as one of the batteries fired, a thunderous roar that shook me to the core. Tracers filled the air, and rumbling cracks bloomed in the blood-red sky.

"Looks like our mission schedule got bumped up a bit." I murmured. Assessing the targets again, a plan formed in my mind. Shikamaru nudged me.

"No ceilings. We'll have to blitz them." His tone betrayed his exasperation. I nodded.

"Alright guys, reload, and check your weapons. We're going in hard and fast. Light up the bunker, then we'll deal with whatever's inside. Do not, I repeat, do not chase down enemies we don't have to. Remember, our priority lies with disabling the installation." They complied, careful not to let sand fill their rifles when they slammed new mags in.

I reloaded as well. We were going in blind, but these guns were going down no matter what.

"Sakura, cover Lee. Lee, you know what to do." He saluted, his usual enthusiasm absent.

"Three...two...one! Execute!" Sakura popped up from cover, Hellhound blaring. Lee dashed forward, two grenades primed in his hands. Bullets whirred around him, but Sakura had them pinned, and they couldn't draw a bead on him. The whirling sands also aided his advance, cloaking him from distant eyes.

I rolled past Sakura, popping up from cover, rifle at the ready. Muzzle flashes shone out of the storm, kicking up even more dirt and sand around us. Taking a deep breath, I squeezed off a few rounds, silencing the gun.

"Fire in the hole!" Lee cried.

"Charge 'em, move, move, move!" I yelled. We poured out of cover, dashing at the sandbag bunker. A rushing mass of blue against the raging red winds. The grenades went off, the first bursting into fragments, the second blowing the bunker apart with high explosives.

The debris was still raining down on us when we leaped into the bunker, dispatching the survivors.

The inside of the installation was almost completely shielded from the storm. Soldiers and crewmen buzzed around like hornets, just as numerous and twice as angry. There were so many.

"Open fire!"

We mowed them down, spreading out to cover more ground. They twisted and fell, set in a panic by the sudden assault. _Click_. Empty.

"Reloading, cover me!" I rammed another mag in. Shots flew over our heads, the artillery crewman desperately trying to fend us off.

"I'm spent!" Sakura cried. "Reloading!"

"Chouji, the launcher!" He 'hai'd' in acknowledgement, bringing his bigger gun to bear. With a _thunk-thunk-thunk_, grenades ripped into the crowd, sending corpses spiraling into the air.

"Get some demolitions on those guns, goddamn it!" _Click_. Empty. I locked another mag in, keeping an eye on the firefight. "Sakura, covering fire! Fireteam Nine, get up there!"

They ran forward, under a withering hail of gunfire. Keeping low, they dove between ammo crates and crawled between the corpses.

Wounded rebels writhed and squirmed in pain, catching rounds from both sides and falling apart at the seams.

"Charges set on the first two!" Tenten cried. The rebel crews were beating a retreat, cowering behind whatever cover they could find before dashing off into connecting streets and alleys. Sparse snap shots were all they could manage under our assault.

We were more organized, better trained, better equipped, and more importantly, we were _pissed off_.

"Charges set on missile launchers oh-one through oh-six." Tenten cried. "I dropped thermite down the barrel of cannon three!" The gun in question spat sparks, barrel glowing orange with sheer heat. It stooped and bent, rendering it useless.

The ground shook. _Boom_._ Boom_. A slow and steady beat into the asphalt.

"WALKER!" Sasuke cried. "Moving in on our ten!" Then, we saw it. Hulking, massive, and armed to the teeth with autocannons, missile racks, and rail guns.

Invoking the spirit of Kiba, I gave a rousing cry of "Oh, fuck!" Then the world exploded, a sea of dirt flying ten meters in the air. I flew into a wall, thrown aside like a toy.

The small arms fire around me seemed distant and far away. More explosions roared, but to me, they seemed underwater. I pushed myself away from my resting place, ears ringing and blood spilling out of my splintered armor. My stomach twinged in pain, dull, but present. Probably would have hurt like a bitch if I wasn't... well... me.

Shikamaru towered over me, helmet split and sitting askew. His gas mask was off, and his mouth was making movements. He moved closer, within hearing range.

"I'll take this one." He screamed, although his voice was hushed and muted like a whisper. I shook my head, tried to stand, before he pushed me back down. The look in his eyes was pained, worry creasing his normally carefree face.

"Go ahead." I said. Another explosion ripped into the ground, heaving the earth below me. Ugh. Get up. You need to get _up_.

The air was alive with bullets, all ringing off the Walker's hull. Sakura dashed forward, braving the autocannon. Shino covered her advance, hurling grenades at the metal monstrosity. It turned to him and fired a blue blossom of plasma from its rail cannon. The round struck a stack of flak ammo.

The resulting explosion was quiet, ethereal almost. Shino was thrown to the ground, skidding and rolling almost fifty meters before sliding to a stop a few paces from me. No. Not another one. He coughed, blood spurting down his broken, smoking armor.

_No._

I crawled over to him, keeping my head low. The titanium-weave plates were shattered and threadbare. I looked him over while the battle raged on. Sakura's charge went off, destroying the walker's missile rack with a thundering _crack_.

It stumbled, wide feet backing up onto a broken flak cannon and crushing it.

Shino wheezed, blood seeping out of his mouth and nose. Shrapnel covered him like quills on a porcupine. So much blood. I checked his vitals. Breathing. Pusle. I didn't know for how long.

"Naru...to..." he croaked.

"Gonna... be okay buddy." I managed. Med foam. I had a little. Where the _fuck_ did it go?

"Tenten!" Shikamaru roared on comms.

"Aaaaaaghhh! Yeah, yeah, I'm... _fuck_!" Pain. Hurt. "I'm on it!" She cried.

"Keep the pressure up!" He yelled. Don't let it get a bead on you!"

I found the med-foam, and pulled the worst of the shrapnel out of Shino. He screamed. It was the most noise I had ever heard him make. I filled the weeping wound with med-foam, sealing it. On to the next.

The air boiled around me, superheated by a sabot round that flew by my head, slamming into a pre-fab and reducing it to rubble. A warm trickle wormed its way down my neck as debris ripped into my back. At least I kept any more shrapnel from hitting Shino.

I jerked my head up as the ground shook, each footstep bringing the titanic war machine closer.

"This is for Kiba, you son of a bitch." Tenten growled. What was going on? Then, I saw her, seated in the flak cannon. "Neji!"

"Adjusting!" Then, tracer fire filled the enclosure, a brilliant stream of phosphorus and copper. The walker withered under the hail of exploding rounds, vaporizing into a roiling fireball.

"Yatta!" Tenten cried, before succumbing to a vicious coughing fit.

I was happy everyone else was okay, but I was losing Shino. He coughed more and more, the rivers of blood streaming with no end in sight.

The world moved, and I saw a flash of pink hair before I was set down hard on the pavement. The AA emplacement, which had been an organized and bustling installation, was deserted, pockmarked with blast marks and craters. And corpses.

Sakura broke out her medical kit, hands flying up and down Shino.

"He'll live if we can get him evac'd. Nii-chan!"

"On it." My vision went cloudy for a moment. Tired. Loss of blood. "Shizu-chan! Come in Shizu-chan!" Comms were still weak, fuzzy from the storm that raged around us. Static. "Shizu-chan!"

"Come...kkkkkko-kun."

"We need immediate medivac! Shino's going critical!"

"Copy that. I can kkkk-ve a Roc out there in five, Call sign, Victor 02-Dash."

"Hurry, goddammit!" I already lost Kiba, no way I was losing Shino too.

Dull aches ate at my mind, and my arm felt weak. I gave orders to destroy the guns. So tired.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata said, sliding over to me. Her eyes searched me up and down, lingering on my seeping wounds. She lunged forward, crushing her lips into mine. I was caught off-guard, but I certainly wasn't complaining. "Please, be ok." I grunted, finding breaths hard to take.

"It's Shino you should worry about." I said. She turned, and gasped when she saw the pile of metal and meat that was Shino. A hand went to her mouth. "Sakura's taking care of him, and we're getting a medivac." I smiled, trying to get her mind off it all, if only for a second. "And if you really want me to stick around, help patch me up." She nodded, fear still quivering in her pale eyes.

Peeling the armor off my left arm, she gasped. BBs from the shotgun shells that had felled Kiba ran up my arm. Deep red tracks leaked blood down my arm, leaving open gashes in my arm where the pellets had torn through my skin. If I used med-foam to seal it up, I'd have to use way more than we had.

"Stitches!" I shouted at Sakura. She threw them at me without looking.

More explosions rocked the earth, and rebel guns split apart, their ammunition going up like fireworks.

I prepared to stitch myself up, but Hinata snatched the needle out of my hands.

"L-let me." I nodded. "I'd give you something for the pain, but... I think you'll be ok." She smiled and tensed, steeling herself for the task at hand.

"You got this." And boy did she. With short, mechanical jerks, she sewed me up. Quick, precise, and efficient. The aching subsided a bit, but fresh blood ran down my arm. Med-foam met it, white cream stemming the wounds in a nerve-chilling rush.

"Wow. You're amazing." I said. I looked up at her. Wonderful. Everything about her. Tears pricked at my eyes. I sagged forward, wrapping my arms around her. "Thank you, Hinata. For... for everything." She mumbled something into my shoulder. I didn't hear it, and didn't care.

Suddenly, her body was racked with sobs, shuddering and shaking. I put my hand behind her head, pushing her deeper into my shoulder.

"Shh... shh... it's ok. We're gonna be ok." I had no idea what was coming out of my mouth. I had no way of promising that to her, but I did anyway, anything to make her feel better. _I'd do anything for her_. I realized.

She sniffed and retreated, wiping my own tears away.

"You have another wound, don't you, Naruto-kun?"

"My side. Back too, probably. Careful, I don't know what's down there."

"Incoming!" Sasuke shouted. Reinforcements! Shit! I jumped up, almost falling over from the rush of blood.

"Easy!" Hinata whispered. Sakura tossed her Hellhound to Sasuke.

"We can't go out there, the storm... Shino will-"

"I know! Fireteam 10, lock them down!" I yelled, before Hinata pulled me into a crater. The air above us hummed with bullets again, whizzing over our heads like hornets. Shouts and cries rang out, and our brief moment of rest was over. "Damn it, Hinata, I can't see!" Tenten dove into our cover, clutching a piece of metal that jutted out of her torso. The wound she had gotten earlier. She yanked it out with a cry, panting and huffing. I tossed her the med-foam.

"If you go out there, you'll get cut to pieces!" Hinata yelled, plugging her eyes into her rifle again.

"We can't stay here_ gunso_! They'll overrun us!" Tenten cried.

"Getting low on ammo!" Shikamaru cried. This was bad. Really bad.

"Get the rest of those guns down NOW!" I yelled. A red pulse worked its way up my side. Blackness ate at me. "We need that medi-vac, Victor 02-Dash where the _hell_ are you guys?"

"ETA two minutes, hold on Marines!"

"Body of rebels forty meters away, directly to your one o'clock!" Hinata cried, her rifle edged outside of cover. I patted my webbing. Damn, no grenades.

"Sasuke, light 'em up!"

"Acknowledged. Fire in the hole!" A black sphere flew over my head, hissing with speed. It exploded, sending gouts of flame into the air.

"Direct hit!" Hinata called.

"Nice throw, _teme_." I said. I ripped my side armor off, revealing a tapestry of bruises and lacerations. Bruised ribs if I was lucky, broken ribs if I wasn't. Tenten tossed me the med-foam back, and I healed what I could.

A grenade rolled into our cover. Without thinking, I snatched it up and threw it back, where it exploded mid-arc. Too close. Lucky the fuse wasn't cooked right.

"We're holding them off, but we can't do it forever!"

"Kosenjobi Actual, this is Victor 02-Dash, you'll have to re-locate. LZ is too hot." Tenten looked at me, while Hinata grimaced and popped a few shots at the rebels. Our situation was looking more and more grim by the second.

Think.

"That does it, I'm dry!" Shikamaru shouted. "Switching to sidearm!"

Think.

"Go back where you came from, assholes!" Ino cried.

Bingo.

"Shizu-chan, ready a fire mission for the _Omodaru_'s orbital guns!"

"No can do, Naruto-kun. Guns are on standby _kkkkkkkk_ next three hours." _Damn it! _This would just make our job a lot harder.

"Copy that, out!" I roared, clicking off her channel. I addressed my squad, shouting to be heard over the cacophony of battle. "We're getting out of here!"

"Nii-chan, the storm-"

"It's fading! Get Shino on a stretcher, NOW!" I unplugged Hinata's wire, and she blinked a few times before looking up at me. "We're heading back the way we came in. I want covering fire in four seconds. Watch for three friendlies at your two!"

"Now!" We crawled out of cover, before hunching into a low sprint back to cover. "Come on, let's move! Masks on, just in case!" They filed out from cover, firing and reloading as fast as they could. Bullets screamed past in buzzing whines, burying themselves in the wreckage and ruins around us.

We burst out of the emplacement, running back the way we came.

"Who's got our six?" I yelled.

"On it, sir!" Neji cried. He paused behind us to chuck a grenade at any possible pursuers.

"We're going out the way we came in!" I cried. "Get ready to burst through any remaining defense." A chorus of acknowledgements. "Victor-02 Dash, dust-off at Map marker 06-04!"

"Kosenjobi Actual, interrogative: that's a rebel-"

"It's clear! Just _get_ there!" At least a platoon of rebels were on our tail, Shino was bleeding out, and ammo was at an all time low. I wasn't about to start taking shit from some P.F. bird-jockey.

"They're still in pursuit, but trailing behind!" Neji said.

"Alright, we're almost to the line!" The storm had petered out for the most part, and brief, intermittent winds with stinging handfuls of sand were all that remained of the once-mighty gale. The defensive line we had penetrated earlier was filled with bodies, but the Growlers and the Hoplite remained, surrounded by a squad of inspecting rebels.

"Hit it Sakura!"

"You got it!" She thumbed her detonator, and the tank sundered apart, splitting in half with a deafening crack and a burst of fire. Debris whistled through the air, and the heat wave hit us like an invisible, all-consuming fist.

"Clear out the survivors and prepare a perimeter!" Our accuracy was shoddy, considering we'd been in a dead sprint for almost six minutes. But our rifles roared, and the rebels dropped. A few managed to return fire, but were stunned from the detonation, and quickly fell. A rebel had caught fire from the burning tank, screaming and flailing as he tried to put out the flames that consumed him. Sakura dashed forward with a quick step-hop before grabbing the man's head and smashing it against a Growler, painting its side red. It groaned under the force of the sudden strike, rocking on its suspension.

"Saints, Sakura-chan." Tenten breathed. She didn't say anything back.

"Perimeter!" I reminded them. The storm had blown in giant piles of sand, red dunes that swallowed the city in shifting, rippled waves. We could use the change in terrain to our advantage. "Sakura, get your MG up on that dune! Ino, Chouji, get on those Growlers! Everyone else, dig in!"

I jumped behind a concrete divider, sliding into firing position. My heart hammered a frenetic beat against my ribs, my lungs sucking in clean, filtered air as fast as they could fill. My M-34 shook in my hands, fatigue and hints of pain eating away at the outer edges of my awareness.

"Come on." I whispered to no one in particular. "Come on." I watched the roads and alleyways, barrel flicking between potential targets.

"Kosenjobi Actual, this is Victor-02-Dash, we have eyes on you, prepare for evac." I felt the medivac before I heard it, blasts of air and sand buffeting us as the VTOL craft descended. Their ion engines came next, a throaty, electric howl that shook the earth under our boots.

Shino coughed and moaned.

"Hinata, Shikamaru, get him out of here!" The side of the craft opened up as it touched down, revealing three Hegemony medics in white helmets and black pressurized suits.

"Rocket!" Sasuke called. It sailed over the Roc, but just barely. "They're here!" My head whipped around, and sure enough, rebels poured into the street, dashing into cover.

"Light them the _FUCK_ up, warborn!" I cried, and a salvo of rifle fire answered.

"I thought you said it would be clear!" The pilot whined.

"I'm working on it!" I growled. I fired at the slower soldiers, the ones who were unlucky enough to follow their comrades. They spun and fell into each other, clutching at the gaping holes in their bodies. "Hinata-chan!"

"He's almost there!" She replied. One medic had hopped on a turret that sprouted out from the side of the craft, and was providing the best fire support he could. Six spinning barrels spat death at a thousand rounds per minute, a constant _thhhbbbbbbbbbbbbbtttt_ that tore prefabs, sand dunes, concrete, and rebels to shreds.

The other two medics pulled Shino in, instantly plugging IVs and other assorted wires into his body the instant he was secure. One banged her fist twice on the hull, and the door snapped shut.

"Package secured, we're getting the hell out of here!"

"Copy that, Victor 02-Dash. Any way we could a little more fire support?" I asked, bullets flying over my head. The line was quiet for a bit. Shino needed to get out of here, sure, but I wasn't sure about our own chances if we didn't have any support.

"We'll see what we can do, over." He said, clicking off comms.

"Copy that. Kosenjobi Actual out."

"AGH!" Ino cried. "They clipped me! That _hurts_, assholes!" She replied by pouring more fire onto the rebels. One round from her autocannon hit a rebel, vaporizing flesh and bone in a white-red flash.

Two rebels were trying to flank us, running forward during the confusion. I saw them, and their plan was ruined. I shot him in the shoulder. He stumbled out of cover, grasping at his wound and screaming at the protruding bone. His buddy stopped and wheeled around, grinding his feet into the sand. He hit the ground, where I shot him in the heart. Ino's autocannon finished off the other, shooting gore into the air, and leaving a charred pile of meat in its place.

The cry of ion-engines blitzed past, and a trail of exploding ammunition followed, blooming orange bursts of shrapnel on the rebel lines. A flaming corpse launched into the air, spinning in a cartwheel before crashing against a wall and slumping to the ground.

"That's all for now, Kosenjobi Actual! Over and out!" The pilot cried, breathing hard.

"Thanks for your help, out!" The Roc pointed towards the heavens and flared its engines, bathing the ground in heat. Hopefully Shino would get the attention he needed on the _Omodaru_.

Sakura rammed her last drum into the Hellhound.

"Let the runners go!" I shouted. Most of the rebels lay dead or dying, and the ones that fled dragged their comrades along. We were lucky to have survived, no reason to risk ourselves any more than we had to.

With a few half-hearted parting shots, the remnants of the rebel platoon slunk back into the bowels of Erebus.

We had survived. Against all odds.

"Yeah, you run, assholes!" Ino cried, slipping out of the Growler with a bloody hand on her arm. I sunk down to the ground, my fall only halted by Sasuke catching my arm.

I looked down at the ground, watching my blood pool at my feet, greedily absorbed by the sand. I must really be hurt, even though the only thing that really hurt was the _ringing_.

"How bad is it, _teme_?" He didn't say anything. He called Sakura over, who stumbled over to me with as much haste as she could. She took one look at me before clasping a hand over her mouth. Her tired eyes spread wide in horror.

"Nee-chan?"

"Nii-chan… you're too wounded! We have to stop!" I grunted.

"I'll live. Now patch me up, and let's get moving. We can't stay here." Chances were, the survivors would regroup and counter-attack the instant they collected themselves.

"Naruto-kun, you'll-"

"I don't care."

"But-"

"But nothing, Sakura! You want the rest of us to end up like Kiba?!" I snapped. "You will follow my orders when I give them to you. Understand?" She looked at me, half in hurt and half in worry.

She nodded, tears building in her green, green eyes. Dividing the last of the med-foam between Tenten, Ino and myself, her huge frame shook with sobs. Grief, that inky black specter, haunted the frames of every single squad mate. Instantly, I felt awful.

I ignored the choking lump in my throat.

"I'm sorry. I…" I paused. "Can you patch me up on the go?" She gave me something resembling a smile.

"I'll try, Nii-chan. I'll try."

* * *

**A/N**

**"Someone someone, are you there? **

**Someone, someone, I need air."**

**\- Alliance graffiti found on Erebus**


	20. Interlude X

**A/N: Glad ya'll are liking the story so far. Share it around! :D**

**On a completely unrelated note, RWBY Season 2 just finished last night. Shit was _crazy_ awesome. Coco made her debut, and that was hype as fuck. If any of you are on the fence about watching RWBY, go check it out. It's a lot of fun.**

**Review Replies:**

**MYK-ON: And they're still just nineteen...**

**tenneyshoes: They weren't in canon enough. ;) haha And don't worry, your questions will be answered next chapter. Awesome to hear you're still liking the story! **

**Disclaimer: Ya'll know the drill. **

* * *

Interlude 10

**Excerpt from "_Unification Investigations: Personal Reports and Accounts of the Most Destructive War in History_" by Dr. Naota Haruno.**

I sit with a Hegemony Marine (who prefers to remain anonymous) in his small apartment in Paris, France. His wife and teenaged daughter have left for the day, allowing us to talk. The man is heavily scarred, with a fake eye and bionic left arm, which tightly clenches a cigar. His voice is soft and worn, ragged from years of smoking and screaming. Right now, he's speaking of his days as a guerrilla on the Alliance Colony of Ushibistan.

"Fighting fair was never an option. Not when you're outnumbered like that. There's more of them then there are bullets."

"You don't feel conflicted about your service?"

"At the beginning I did. When I saw their faces. Young faces. You know that the rebs press-ganged a lot of 'em right? Fuckin' slapped a gun in their hands then pointed them at us."

"The rumors of forced service are still being examined." I remind him. He laughs at this.

"Good news, the investigation is over. I saw them cryin' and screamin' with my own two eyes." Another laugh, shorter this time. "One eye, I guess."

"You were saying…about your time on Ushibistan?"

"Oh. Right. Dirty little shit-hole planet." He scoffs, knocking his cigar onto a cracked ceramic ashtray. "More sand dunes and mesas then you'd care to see in your entire life."

"How do you feel about serving there, for almost four years?" He thinks for awhile, his arm whirring as he strokes his chin.

"Well, you know why I sleep soundly at night, when PTSD and suicides are still at a record high? I stopped shooting at the faces. At the teenagers who barely knew how to hold a gun."

"You stopped killing?"

"No. I just shot the uniforms."

* * *

**A/N: Some people find it easier than others.**


	21. Promises Are The Most Comforting Lies

**A/N: A few slower paced chapters now, for the sake of build up. :)**

**Disclaimer: Again, you know this now.**

* * *

**Chapter 11 - Promises are the Most Comforting Lies**

Erebus was alive that night, as it had been every night since our arrival. A symphony of war sounded in the distance, the bass of artillery shaking the earth, while the staccato crackle of small-arms fire rattled away into the filthy city air.

We had fled the center of the city, seeking center in the ruins of the commercial district just outside of the mining spires. It had taken us several hours to find a good place to rest. We were tired and frayed from the events of today.

I watched Fomalhaut sink beneath the horizon, the rainbow flashes of its debris ring echoing against faraway clouds before fading into darkness.

I rubbed the fatigue from my eyes, before resettling my M-34. The streets near us held nothing but rubble and civilians. Thin, broken things.

No rebels.

A small ache of red pulsed on my arm. I readjusted the IV taped to my elbow, clearing it from the sights of my rifle. The thin plastic hoses shifted slightly, and blood flowed into my body once more. Sakura had taped a bag of the stuff above my window, letting me keep watch while I received a much-needed transfusion.

God knows I lost enough of the stuff. And so did Shizu-chan, as she had dropped in supplies two hours ago, replenishing our ammo, armor, and med-foam. The blood bags had been included too, seeing as Tenten and myself were in serious need of it.

I was tired and worn, but I was feeling a little better with the extra blood. Tenten slept, the med-foam and plasti-sutures doing their best to patch the hole in her torso. Neji sat next to her, trying desperately to stay awake and failing miserably.

Night was falling, the stars revealing themselves from the fading purple-blue sky. I would be relieved soon. I watched a civilian in a wind-swept cloak loot a burnt-out Growler, stowing foodstuffs in the folds of his clothing. He scurried off, never aware that I was watching him.

Fingers ached. I had been clenching my rifle too tightly, and my armor weighed against me, heavy and obdurate. Tired. We were all so tired. We'd been running and killing for almost twenty hours. And we lost Kiba.

A knock on the door of my perch.

"Hey, Naruto."

"Shika."

"You're good to go. Get some sleep before Shizune-san gets on our asses." A cigarette hung loosely from his mouth, glowing brighter as the world grew darker.

"Put that shit out, man." He was already grinding the butt into the floor.

"I know. Don't be a pain." I shrugged, removing the blood bag from its place and strapping it to my helmet, careful not to squeeze it.

"Well, someone might have seen it. And I wouldn't want to make their day worse if they decided to come knocking." I grinned.

"Heh." He smiled a little. "We'll be off this planet soon." I stopped.

"You think so?"

"I know so." Well that was it. When Shikamaru _knew_ something, it was bound to happen. "I just hope our friends are okay." He huffed, settling himself into position.

"Well, keep an eye out." I smiled.

It was a short walk through the ruined hallways of the three-story restaurant we occupied. I found my squad on the main floor, resting against the barricades we had thrown against the doors and windows. Those who slept did so lightly, knowing that at any moment Shizu-chan could call us with new orders.

Hinata was waiting for me.

Dark bags sunk beneath her pale eyes, evidence of her fatigue. Despite this, she wore a small smile, which I returned. Her armor was gone, leaving her in her mesh-top and fatigues. A _very _welcome sight.

"That blood's treating you well." She said. "There's a little color in those cheeks." A rumbling boom exploded in the distance, shaking insulation and dust down from the rafters. An orbital strike no doubt. An idea came over me, insane as it was tempting.

"Hey Hinata… do you want to go look at the stars with me?"

"Y-you should sleep, Naruto-kun."

"But you're coming anyway, right?" She sighed, and gave me a weary smile.

"Looks like you won't give me much of a choice."

"Not this time, Hinata-chan." I unbuckled and removed my armor, which brought near-instant relief. She took my hand and slung her Type-72 over her shoulder. We ascended the stairs until we reached the rooftop door. It was locked, so I smashed the handle apart with the butt of my rifle. It came apart, falling open to reveal Erebus at war. The city burned, alive with the sounds and sights of a full-scale invasion. The air was frigid, the heat that had seared us this morning falling to a bitter, biting cold.

I spread out on the cement, beckoning Hinata to do the same. She hung my helmet and IV from the shattered door handle, and joined me. Tucking herself under my arm and clasping my hand, she looked upwards. She was so warm.

We lay like that, in silence. Quiet Dune's lone blue moon waned, its face occluded by its orbit around the planet. The stars were out though, shining bright despite the countless fires that lit the streets of Erebus.

"Where's home?" I asked.

"Babel?" She looked up. She waited, her byakugan checking the night sky for the right star. "That one." She said, pointing to a dim pinprick of light that sat below the glowing blue moon. So far away. She sighed against my chest.

"Do you remember doing this… back then?" I nodded.

"We'd all sneak out of the barracks and stargaze. I remember Shikamaru just fell asleep." We laughed a little. He'd never escape his lazy reputation.

"Oh! Remember when tried to drag Sasuke along?"

"You literally dragged him, Naruto-kun. It wasn't nice!" She smiled, despite her (admittedly halfhearted) admonishment.

"And his retaliation _was_?" She looked confused for a moment.

"I… don't remember…"

"During our simulation the next day, he singled me out and shot me twice. In the back of the head!" I shuddered, remembering. Stunner rounds stung like hell (my kekkai genkai notwithstanding), and the huge bruises they left didn't leave for days. And the fact that we had simulations every day certainly didn't help.

"I must've been on his team that time." She sighed. "It does sound like something he'd do."

"Not all of my squad are as forgiving and lovely as you." I said, nuzzling her. She welcomed the gesture, reddening and giving me a wide smile.

"Do you remember when Kiba tried to prank him?" I bit my tongue, stifling a guffaw of laughter.

"He-he hung him from his ankles! From the Academy roof!" I pumped my arms up and down for a second, a rough approximation of Kiba during 'The Rooftop Incident', as it came to be known. Hinata giggled, bringing her hand in front of her mouth to hide her smile.

For a moment, we forgot his blood still stained our boots.

I felt a wet sensation on my arm. My IV had come unplugged during my pantomiming, leaving small blots of red on the bandaging. "Careful, Naruto-kun." She said. Quickly sterilizing the needle with an antiseptic pad, she put it back in its place.

"Here, lay down." She settled me back down, her hand gently pushing me back to rest. Her face was inches from mine. Then our noses were touching, hot breaths spilling off each other and steaming in the cold night air. "I… I wouldn't…" She stammered more and more as her face grew redder. "I… don't want… y-you to get-" I kissed her then, unable to stop myself. She hummed against me, embarrassment forgotten the instant our lips met. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her tight against me.

We broke apart after a few minutes when An MG rattled a few klicks away, closer than the last time its report reached our ears. Hegemony forces were making progress. She shuddered, rubbing her arms for warmth. I brought her tight against me, not wanting to lose her warmth to all the death that surrounded us.

"Did you feel that?" She asked after awhile.

"Feel what?"

"That… the feeling of guilt… that we're together here… while…" For a moment, I was at a loss to reply. I didn't know what she was saying, until I realized her words pinpointed what I had been feeling ever since this morning.

"Yeah. I do." Of course. Hinata figured it out, while I was left scrambling for answers.

"I-I've dreamed of… being with you for so long." She sighed, a deep release of air that tickled my neck. "So long. And all that happiness you gave me… Just since last night, and… already! Already I feel like this city is eating away at it. It's horrible." Tears pricked the corner of her synthetic eyes. "Corrosive."

"It's my fault." Her head snapped up.

"No, you can't-" I didn't raise my voice in answering her.

"I can. And I will. No matter, what you say, I'll always have that eating at me. That I let Kiba walk into that. All those years we shared with him, all those times I pushed him to train harder, to be better. And look." Hinata started shaking her head, desperately trying to stop the flood of tears. "I lost him. I always knew I'd lose someone. Ever since Kakashi-sensei told me I was gunso… but… It just hurts so much." And, just like that, I was crying too.

"And it's not just losing him. It's that bitch Olivia. All this pain and suffering… is this is what we were made for?" She didn't respond, choosing instead to wrap me in her arms. I pulled her close, running my hand through her tightly-bound hair. It hurt so much seeing her like this. Even more so that my thoughts mirrored her own.

"Warborn. That's what we are. Almost like shinobi of old, you know?" She said, a small smile breaking the trail of salt that ran down her face. "We've lived our entire lives as little warriors. Thirteen years we did our drills, learned our lessons."

"Thirteen years." I agreed, rubbing at my eyes.

"Thirteen years of living and training and _breathing_. Snatched away two months after graduating."

"It makes me wonder, you know?" I said, looking at the Milky Way stretching out like a gaping wound in the sky. "Why we did it. Why we stuck through all of it." She wiped her tears away with the back of her hand.

"I think you know, Naruto-kun."

"I do?"

"You never gave up. Never stopped trying, fighting, clawing for what you wanted. Never, ever giving up."

"Perseverance." I said, seeing her point. She smiled, despite her grief. "It's my _nindo_."

_Nindo_. Now that was a long time ago. I was nine, I think. I would play ninja with the guys instead of training. I guess since we fought and scrapped, the instructors never thought to stop it. Lee and Kiba had beaten Sasuke and myself again. I had dragged Sasuke to his feet, and when Kiba laughed at my efforts, I found myself defying him with my words, when my body was too exhausted to continue. 'I never give up or go back on my word! Getting back up time and time again is the mark of a real ninja! That's my _nindo_!'

That had been so long ago. I looked over at Hinata. Sadness still seeped from her, but a glow of happiness smoldered below it all, a sunny yellow beating back the black.

"Yeah It's my _nindo_." I beamed and felt her happiness swell. Not a lot, but enough to make me feel a little better too.

"It's _our_ nindo."

Her arms encircled me again, careful not to tear out my IV. She looked back up at the stars after a few minutes. I traced the tattoo on her shoulder, a calloused white finger running over the smooth black pattern.

"They're really pretty tonight."

"We'll see a lot of them, won't we? Travelling around like we do."

"I guess we will." I took her hand in mine, sliding my fingers between hers.

"And when it's all over… we'll stargaze in Konoha. Promise?" I squeezed her hand. She looked at me, eyes still wet from tears. Her mouth pulled tight, but only for a moment. With a blood-stained hand, she ran her fingers down my face, planting a small kiss on my lips at the same time.

"Promise." She whispered.

* * *

After an hour or so, the door creaked open, and Sakura came through, ducking under the frame.

"Oh… uh… sorry guys!" She said, her cheeks glowing to match her hair. Hinata had fallen asleep a half hour ago, the far-off serenade of battle lulling her into a brief, much-needed rest. I couldn't sleep.

"It's... um. No problem, Sakura-chan." I scooped my helmet up, placing it back on my head. The blood bag was mostly empty now, anyway. Sasuke edged around Sakura's form, spiky black hair messy and tangled.

"_Dobe_."

"_Teme_." What the hell were these two up to? "How's everyone holding up down there?" Sakura shifted her weight, looking back at Sasuke for a brief moment.

"We'll make it. What about you?"

"I'm… okay. I'll be better when we're off this hellhole."

"Yeah. I'm with you on that one, Nee-chan. How's your transfusion coming." I held up the bag, which was empty but for the smallest drops of blood.

"Done." Hinata stirred in her sleep, nudging herself deeper into my arms.

"I wish I could give you another bag. But Tenten lost a lot from that wound, and Ino was clipped a lot worse that I thought. I'm sorry. Conditions are far from ideal." I stroked Hinata's hair behind her ear, careful not to interrupt her sleep.

"Ain't that the truth."

"Sasuke and I are going to talk. Make sure you listen for Shizune, and _nothing else_." The tone in her voice made me smile. It was that kind of talk then.

"You got it."

They strode off to the other edge of the roof, keeping low to avoid any prying rebel eyes. I shut my eyes, hoping for a little rest. I had been fighting and killing for almost twenty hours straight, and my brain was too wired from the stress and grief. I rubbed my eyes, which just managed to spread more dirt and sand into them. Brilliant move, Naruto. Brilliant move.

I did my best to heed Sakura's warning and not eavesdrop, but my mind wouldn't focus on anything else. I guess the other times I disobeyed Sakura hadn't sunk in yet.

"What do you need Sakura? My head is killing me." Straight to the point then.

"I wanted to talk to you."

"About what?"

"I don't know… things."

"What kind of things?"

"Lots of things."

"Hn."

"Oh, don't start that shit with me." She snapped.

"I'm sorry."

"No you're not."

"Not even remotely." Sakura sighed at this.

"Sasuke… look at this city."

"I've seen enough of it."

"Yeah. That's the thing though. How much more of this are we going to see?" He paused, taking a deep breath that was audible across the roof.

"I don't know Sakura. Years. Decades? However much it is, it isn't enough!" He said, spitting angrily. "As long as there's still rebels, I'll still be a Marine."

"Sasuke…"

"What? Surprised?" He said, voice lacking its derisive bite.

"No. I'm not."

"What about you then? Are you looking to scuttle out the first chance we get?" Sakura did something I didn't expect. She laughed.

"Honestly? I don't care about where I am. I just want to be with everyone where someone's not screaming at us or making shoot stunners at each other." She sighed. "Or rebels shooting at us for real. Or where children are butchered."

"It won't be the last time. You know this." Sasuke, master of comforting women. Good thing Sakura wasn't like most women.

"I know. It's all still raw. Losing Kiba. I mean... _Fuck_. Who's next? I can't… I can't imagine losing anyone else. We were so lucky Shino made it out alive."

"All we can do is keep moving forward. I… _we'll_ do our best to stay alive. But this war won't be over for a long time."

"So you're saying you don't care about Kiba?" She asked softly.

"No… I… Hm."

"What if Nartuo goes next? One stray bullet and poof. Gone." Sasuke didn't say anything. "It could be you next." I heard a soft tap of flesh on bone as Sakura pushed her fingers against his temple. "Bang."

"I am an avenger." He replied simply.

"You think the rebels _care_? You think they're not gonna light you up 'cause you have a purpose, a story you need to finish? What if it's me, Sasuke? It could happen in the next twenty minutes. We get orders to move out, and I step on a landmine."

"You wouldn't-"

"Sniper. Pow. No head."

"I'd see him-"

"Artillery. Whistle, bang. Vaporized. Wouldn't feel a thing."

"Sakura. Don't."

"What?"

"It's not healthy to talk like that. Besides, I'll never let you die on my watch-" Anything else he said was lost to (what I assumed to be) a smothering hug.

"You're… crushing… me…"

"Sorry! Sorry!" A few awkward coughs from Sakura. She tried to speak a few times, tripping over her words a few times before finding purchase. "So… you do care about something other than yourself… is that what you're saying?"

"Hn."

"Asshole. Another 'hn', and I'll make you regret it."

"Hn." All he had time for was a stifled yelp before Sakura kissed him. If it wasn't for Hinata resting on my chest, I would have jumped the hell off this roof right then and there. I mean… WHAT THE WHAT.

"What… what was that?" He asked, shell-shocked and confused as myself.

"I warned you." She said. I couldn't see her face, but her smile was audible enough. "Don't pretend you didn't know. So… again?" Sasuke guffawed, a deliciously un-Sasuke sound, and something I'd swear I'd never hear. Before long, Sakura joined him too.

"We'll see. But first, let's get off this horrible planet. I think a shower would vastly improve the experience." Sakura giggled a bit, delighted.

"Fair enough. Not that it's stopping Naruto and Hinata." Sasuke blew air out his nose in an approximation of a laugh.

"I'm surprised _dobe_ even knew about the birds and the bees."

Ouch. I buried my face in Hinata's hair. No more. I don't wanna hear anymore. That's when a new voice called out, a smooth, care-free drawl.

"Ah, young love." I snapped up, pistol drawn in a half second. Hinata was right behind me, pistol directed at the new voice.

A man with grey hair and a porcelain-white dog mask sat on the edge of the rooftop, a small orange book in his hands.

"Ho, Naruto-kun." He said with a little wave.

"_Kakashi-sensei_?"

* * *

**A/N: Hahahaha they were born to kill and die hahahaha they want to be happy hahahahaha **


	22. Interlude XI

**A/N: Sorry today's interlude is so short! Also, yay! 50 reviews! You guys are the best! Please, keep 'em coming! I love to hear from you!**

**Review Replies: **

**dksamuri: Glad you're sticking with me!**

**tenneyshoes: To me, the stars will never lose their magic, even if you live among them. :) And no, Erebus is one of many countless worlds upon which the war is being waged. More about Kakahsi will be explained next chapter. :D**

**Terrazine: I'm sorry! I just want more people to read it! :O**

**Disclaimer: I own things here that aren't Naruto-related.**

* * *

**Extracted Audio Log 12-04223 from HNS-_Omodaru_ Bridge. Field Marshal [REDACTED], and Tactical Commander Shikaku Nara discuss the invasion of Quiet Dunes. - **_Made available with restricted identification via the Dunawir Declassification Act._

"The shittiest, reddest planet this quadrant has to offer. Why are we here again?"

"You know as well as I do. Molybdenum and sulfur mines. Biggest ones outside of Hegemony control."

"Really, **[REDACTED]**? That's it? Just…_mines_?"

"Orders are orders."

_There is silence for a few seconds._

"It's a shame."

"It's an important target."

"A lot of kids are going to die over a pile of rocks. Who knows. One of them might even be mine."

* * *

**A/N: You've killed so many, what makes yours special?**


	23. Does This Mean I'm Still Human?

**A/N: I'm sorry to say that this chapter heralds the beginning of the end for this story. I know there's quite a few of you who thought that this would go on for quite a bit longer. I'm sorry, but that isn't the case. This story only relates to the Konoha 12's first mission on Erebus. There will be three more story chapters after this one, in addition to a short omake and an epilogue.**

**I'm thrilled by the awesome response you guys have given me. I'm so honored you took a chance on an out-there piece of fan-fiction. You guys rock.**

**Review Replies:**

****MYK-ON: A very valid point.****

**tenneyshoes: Indeed. :( Thanks so much for your responses! You rock!**

**Cover image by u/BendyWend**

**Disclaimer: Y'all got this shit by now.**

* * *

**Chapter 12: Does This Mean I'm Still Human?**

"KAKAHSI-SENSEI?" How the hell was he here right now?

"Maa, maa, you want to wake up every rebel with a pair of working ears?" Kakashi pushed his dog-mask up, smiling behind yet another mask (the one he never, _EVER_ took off).

"Shit… my bad, sensei." I lowered my weapon, and Hinata did the same.

"Gods, kid." A female voice sounded below us. Before long, another ANBU member appeared, throwing herself over the edge and landing without a sound. She was wearing a snake mask that had two round eyes and a tiny slit nose. "I could've heard you from orbit." Oh no. _Anko-sensei_. Unpleasant memories of her smoking us in the Academy days flashed through my mind. The push-ups. Oh, **_GOD_** the push-ups!

"You're exaggerating, Anko-chan."

"Hardly." A third voice said, also female. The third member of Kakashi's squad appeared, clad in a filthy camouflaged shoulder-cape and a turtle mask.

"Rin's right, Kakashi. Kid's an embarrassment to Marines everywhere."

"Easy for you to say," I cut in, "you're ANBU!" ANBU Black Ops were legendary among Hegemony forces. Mainly comprised of veteran warborn, they were the epitome of elite warriors. With their sheer white animal masks, and sleek, form-fitting armor, they were renowned, but shrouded in mystery. I had no idea Kakashi, Anko, and Rin belonged to them! Or that they had been assigned to the _Omodaru_... guess they keep things pretty hush-hush.

"Enough, enough." Kakashi said.

"Ho, Sasuke-kun! Naruto-kun! What's going on here, guys?" A fourth, cheery voice sounded out, a phoenix mask poking out over the roof. A bionic arm whirred and clicked as it hauled its owner over the edge.

"Come on, stop goofing off. We don't have long, Obito-kun." Rin-sensei said, helping to haul her comrade to his feet.

"Yeah, yeah, Rin-chan." Obito said, waving his hand dismissively. Obito-sensei had been one of my favorite teachers at the Academy, running us through jump school with endless enthusiasm. However, behind the elegantly painted mask lay a horribly scarred disfigured man. Half of his body had been crushed by debris during a mission, and his entire right side was artificial organs and bionics. Despite it all, he bore a constant smile, encouragement and positivity glowing from him in bright golden waves.

It was comforting knowing they were alive and well during the invasion. Besides a few scrapes and med-foam stains, they looked intact.

I laughed a little, rubbing my arm behind my head.

"It's good seeing you guys!" I said.

"You too, Naruto-kun!" Obito said, giving my shoulder a half-hearted punch. "And how's my favorite cousin!" He said, giving Sasuke a noogie with his metal hand. Sasuke was not amused. They shared the burden of being the last living Uchihas, but could not have been more different.

"We're getting extracted here in an hour or so," Kakashi said, "And I need to talk to Naruto-kun here."

"So?" Anko huffed, crossing her arms.

"In private." Obito and Rin nodded, striding towards the stairs.

"We'll go say hey to everyone, then we'll get going. Copy?" Rin said, face unknowable behind her mask.

"Fine." Anko said, looking at Kakashi briefly before following her comrades.

"You too." Kakashi said, looking at Sasuke and Sakura. Sasuke looked pissed, but Sakura got him to let it go. I didn't know what this was about, but Kakashi-sensei's tone brokered no argument.

"Hinata-chan?" She pecked me on my whiskers.

"I'll be right back."

Now that only Kakashi and myself remained, he eyed me and pocketed his signature orange book.

"What's up sensei?"

"Naruto-kun, there's a lot I need to say in a very little amount of time."

"Is this some kind of declaration of love?" I drawled, giving Kakashi a sly smile. His blank face robbed me of my mirth.

"It's about a lot of things. Number one being your parents." My… what? Kakashi took off his helmet, and instructed me to do the same. "It's highly classified. I could get court-martialed if I get caught." I was speechless. Everything was so sudden.

"Wh-what?"

"Take this." He handed me a data disk. "I've set it up to break the Jericho encryption systems on most of the Hegemony's intelligence networks. There's also some instructions on how to do it safely, without drawing too much attention."

"Wh-"

"It's information about anything and everything you need to know, just look it over sometime."

"And… my parents?"

"I was your father's student for several years. That disk has more information about them… and about your kekkai genkai."

"I know all about it. It's not like I chose an uncommon one."

"No. It's about your second one." What? How was that even possible?! The only known examples of people with multiple gen-mods (that survived) were rendered into monsters, like Danzo-sensei or that Kimmimaro guy. I told Kakashi as much. "Your father was a brilliant man, as well as a fearsome Marine. He cracked some issues with kekkai genkai, especially in terms of multiple expression."

I looked at my hands. What was I? Why did Dad do this to me? Who was he?

"Kakashi-sensei… I…"

"I know. It's a lot. That's why I gave you the disc. There's more than you'll ever need to know. Or care to."

"How many kekkai genkai do I have?" I asked, fearing the worst.

"Just the two. There's the one you chose, and one developed by the person who created the Warborn Program- the Will of Fire."

"Will of Fire?"

"It's a pheromone sensor and distributor. Whatever you feel influences those around you in a very direct, biological way. Whatever those around you feel you can pick up on in seconds, and can usually be expressed in terms of color or an intuitive grasp."

"What does…" I didn't know what to say. This was such a sudden revelation.

"It's another reason why you're the squad leader. The one I couldn't tell you all those years ago. The ability to lead is magnified almost a hundred times over in someone who possesses the Will of Fire."

I sat down. This was a lot.

"Why are you telling me all this? Why now?" He put a hand on my shoulder with a world-weary sigh.

"I decided that as your father's student, I owe his son some rather important information. And I heard about Kiba... I guess I realized if something happened to you, and I didn't tell you. I… well…" He shrugged. "I guess I won't know for sure now, huh?"

"I… guess not, Kakashi-sensei."

"Hey, hey." He said, leaning down to give me an awkward hug. "I wouldn't have told you if I didn't think you can handle it. And I have it on good authority we're blasting off this rock pretty soon." I looked up at him. His eyes, the only visible feature of his face, were crinkled into a bright smile.

"Really?"

"Really."

"That's good. I… don't like it here."

"Me either, kid. Me either."

A knock on the door. Anko-sensei's rough, brash voice sounded out from behind it.

"You fags done with your little chat?" Kakashi rubbed the bridge of his nose. I laughed a little.

"All done, honey." Kakashi said, begrudgingly. Anko stormed out, punching him in the shoulder.

"Never, _ever_ call me that." She growled. Eesh. More unpleasant memories rose to the surface. The screaming, the sheer _menace_. I swear, whoever came up with the idea of a drill instructor did so with the knowledge that eventually, this woman would come along and embody the concept in body, mind, and soul.

"Maa, maa, can't you wait till we're in orbit to kill me? I'd get a proper send off that way, at least."

"I wouldn't bet on it, Kaka-kun." Obito chirped behind his phoenix mask.

"Don't antagonize them, Obito-kun." Rin said, a note of amusement creeping into her voice.

"Well since that's the last of them, we'll be off. Remember what we talked about Naruto." He patted my pocket, where the data disk sat. "See you on the _Omodaru_!" One by one, they slid off the roof, and into the night.

Hinata crept up the stairs, clad head to toe in armor. I looked at her. She nodded. Shizu-chan had called. So be it.

I followed her down the stairs, my eyes on my feet. I noticed a bit of grey that had fixed itself to my boots. I scraped it against the stairs, but it didn't come off.

* * *

"What did Kakashi wish to talk about?" Hinata asked. It had been two hours since we left the restaurant, slinking through shattered buildings on our way to a white point on our map. Hegemony forces were making a desperate push into Erebus, and making serious headway. Our objective was to dig in, and prevent any rebel reinforcements from counter-attacking.

By ourselves.

"I don't want to keep secrets, but it'll take awhile to explain. Can you wait for awhile? Is that okay?" Hinata smiled and nodded, as I knew she would.

"Thanks." I let my hand fall off my rifle, to find hers and give it a squeeze. "I'll tell you as soon as I can." She squeezed my hand back. Her smile seemed a little fixed, and I could tell her mind was elsewhere. I tried to cheer her up. "What I _can_ tell you that we'll be leaving soon. How does a shower on the _Omodaru_ sound?"

"I can't wait. I've forgotten what it's like to be clean."

"That was an invitation, by the way." I said, giving her a wide smile. She flushed immediately, mouth opening in shock. Too much fun.

"I-I-I-" Her fingers pushed together again. It was all I could do not to kiss her right there. She was far too cute.

"We'll wait and see once we get there, huh?" I said, nudging her before returning my hand to my M-34.

"_Dobe_." Sasuke called from the front of our small column.

"What's up _teme_? We here?" He nodded stoically. Catching up, I surveyed the area where we were to stage our defense. One of the main roads that pushed into the heart of Erebus lay before us, littered with ruined vehicles and broken pre-fabs. After a short bridge over a trench of plumbing, the road split into three. My headset crackled.

"Naruto-kun, interrogative: how close are you to the objective?"

"We just got here. Looks like a decent place to set up. Not sure how much we can hold back here, but we'll do our best, over."

"Copy that. Might wanna pick up the pace, we got a rebel column headed your way. ETA thirty minutes, over."

"Hard copy, Shizu-chan. How many?" The line was silent for a moment.

"Do you want to know?"

"That bad?"

"We'll support you as much as you can. Best estimates put it at near-battalion strength. Possible armored support, over."

"We'll do our damndest. Can you drop us a rocket launcher, maybe a few barricades?"

"I'll do everything I can. Tsunade-hime wishes you luck." I paused.

"Thanks… for everything Shizu-chan."

"You'll be fine. You have the entire _Omodaru_ at your disposal. We're pulling you out as soon as the P.F. catches up. HQ out."

"I know. We got this. Kosenjobi-Actual, out." I knelt, placing an orbital beacon, and activating it. Blue light pulsed at its seams, transmitting our location data to Shizu-chan.

I turned to my squad. They looked at me expectantly, waiting for news. I felt worry worm its sinister way through their hearts, a rank and acrid stench. I think I knew what Kakashi-sensei was talking about.

"I won't lie to you guys. We have a shitstorm headed our way. Soon enough, it's gonna be hundreds of them, versus the twelve of us." I didn't think to fix that last number.

"And frankly," I roared, "I don't like their chances! We've been on this planet for four days, and I bet we've killed more rebels than the entire invasion force. What are a few more to us?!"

"Yeah!" They cried, spirits rising into the black night air.

"And they're on our territory. Walking into our guns. That street," I shouted, pointing, "is their valley of death! We will choke the gutters with their dead! For we are Warborn, and we will do our duty! Death may claim us all, but only after the rebels have paid their due price, in _oceans_ of blood!"

"For the Hegemony!" I cried, "For Konoha! For _Kiba_! We will _hold_. _Them_. _Here_! OOH-RAH!"

"OOH-RAH!" They echoed in force, smiling and shaking with adrenaline.

"Lee, Sakura, push all those cars together. Give us a couple lines of defense!"

"Hai!" They cried, scurrying off.

"Tenten, make that street is a deathtrap in ten-" I checked the time. "Five minutes, copy?" She gave me a sly, vulpine smile.

"Copy that, _Gunso_!"

"Ino, Chouji, gather some debris, make us some cover." A whistle pierced the air, as the first of Shizu-chan's packages screamed through the atmosphere. It slammed into the earth, scattering sand and bursting open.

Inside was rocket launcher, with a brace of six AP rockets. I ran a quick diagnostic on it, and everything was in order; it had survived descent.

"Sasuke, find a good spot to set up shop." He nodded, slinging his Type 72 over his shoulder. He hauled himself to the top of a pre-fab, crawling to a favorable position.

Next from Shizu-chan was a crate of barricade materials, falling to ground with an unceremonious _THWUMP_. On top were a few spools of barbed wire. Sometimes, I think she spoiled us.

Tossing the barbed wire to Tenten, I ran over to Hinata and Shikamaru. Breaking out my trench spade, I helped set the fortifications up, frantically shoveling sand into them. They'd stop bullets, but nothing bigger. One problem left. We had some cover, but now I had to deny the enemy some of their own.

"Neji, clear the field of fire, and board up the doors!"

"Yes sir!" He cried.

After ten more tense minutes, I surveyed our defenses. Sakura and Lee had managed to set up three rows of vehicles, each reinforced and serving as a line of defense. The sand box fortifications I had filled covered the corners, chock full of Quiet Dunes' red red earth. The street had been cleared of almost all debris, and was choked with tangled barbed wire and hidden satchel charges.

As a last resort, I ordered Sakura to line the bridge behind us with explosives. If we fell, we wouldn't let the rebels have an easy time of getting to the front. She nodded stoically when I gave the order, understanding the purpose instantly. She pulled me into a big hug, crushing me with her enormous arms.

"It's a good idea, and I'm going to do it, but we won't need it. Promise, Nii-chan." I beamed.

"I know, Nee-chan."

Five minutes later, we sat in our places, ready for the rebels. We were sweating and panting, the strain of constant building and digging taking its toll.

I looked over to Hinata, who was leaning into her rifle, doing her best to remain calm. Tapping her shoulder, I gave her a big thumbs up. She gave me a small smile, which I couldn't help but kiss. Our lips locked briefly, fingers entwined. Pulling away, she looked at me with those pale eyes of hers.

"I'm holding you to your promise, Hinata-hime." She giggled a little at the honorific.

"I know."

"We're going to make it out of this." I said. She nodded, before returning to her rife.

"We'll follow you to the end of the galaxy, Naruto-kun." She said simply, loading the first cartridge into her rife with a soft _click-clack_.

I followed suit, clicking the safety off my M-34, turning my eyes to the bend in the road, ready to fire.

"And I'd never trade that for anything." A stillness came over the city. The faraway small-arms fire still clattered and rattled in the distance, as our reinforcements pushed desperately into the city. The wind shifted the sand, turning the red grains over with a gentle breeze. Comms beeped, breaking the peaceful moment.

"Hey _dobe_."

"What's up,_ teme_?"

"They're here. And they brought a walker."

* * *

**A/N: How many conscripts do they get to kill today?**


	24. Interlude XII

**A/N: Well, these next few chapters... b**uckle the fuck up people, shit's about to go down. ****

****And Naruto is over. Wow. Fifteen years, people.****

****Review Replies:****

****dksamri: Thank you!****

**MYK-ON: See Interlude IX! (chapter 18)**

****tenneyshoes: I have a few more ideas, but unless this gets a lot more attention, it's not very cost-effective to do right now, however much I may want to. :/ I will also not be posting the original version of this online. After it's been run through a ton more edits, I'm going to try and get it published in a more standard method.****

****Terrazine: Not tellin' :) Glad you like the story so far!****

* * *

Interlude 12

**WELCOME BACK.**

.genmod/+subjectalpha+/

**ACCESSING…**

**ACCESSING…**

**WARNING! THIS DATA IS ENRYPTED VIA JERICHO ENCYRP. SYS++**

login/Uzumakitaicho/

**ERROR! UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS!**

override/executive/C:wof/+Naruto+/MuNu/Namikaze/ginsho

**AUTHORIZED ACCESS FROM REGISTERD USER!**

**ADJUSTING RESULTS.**

**FIXING FILE.**

**DONE! PRESENTING!**

Hey son. I know you'll find this eventually. So this is the best chance I'll ever get to speak with you. I wish me and your mother could be around to love you, to hold you. But it pains me to say that won't happen. You're a few light-years away, only a few months along, warm and cozy in your embryonic pod. Your mother and I are on the Battleship HNS-_Tonitrus_, and we won't be coming back. Our life support was disabled an hour ago by the Alliance Navy. Rescue is highly unlikely. So... here we are.

Your mother says 'Hi'. Wants you to find a good girl. Settle down, see peace. She's a handful sometimes, but I love her dearly. A kind of love I hope you can experience in your life. Be a good man, Naruto, be a good soldier. And no matter what happens, remember that we're proud of you.

I've attached a report on your first gen-mod, the Will of Fire. I'm sorry I forced it upon you.

I wish it wasn't like this. I wish I didn't have to leave you. We love you, Naruto. Be strong, and forgive us our sins.

Rikusho Namikaze Minato

* * *

Starting with small modifications to the parietal lobe, the 'Will of Fire' restructures hormone and pheromone reception centers, allowing for greatly enhanced perception in these areas. In effect, it allows the subject to both perceive and influence the emotions of others around them, in ways that are difficult to describe objectively. Some describe it as seeing colors. Some can't describe it at all. Subject 05 'Han' describes it as an aura of sorts.

The individuals with this modification, are few and far between. Those that have been gifted this power are part of the 'Jinchuuriki Initiative". 'The Power of Human Sacrifice' is an apt description of those who receive the Will of Fire. Their continued use of this modification is paving the way to even greater Hegemony victories, both militarily and scientifically.

Subjects that possess it train harder, fight harder. According the the past three decades of psychology reports, they're deeply connected to those around them, loving them and leading them at the same time. Such a combination forms frightfully effective combat teams, despite the inherent risk involved. But the sheer effectiveness can't be ignored. Field reports suggest a TL in possession of the 'Will of Fire' is nearly 600% more proficient, in terms of both survivability and combat effectiveness.

However, reports have been made of 'Will of Fire' recipients entering berserk rages during combat. What causes these rampages is unknown. Obtaining combat footage of such an event is highly advisable however, as knowledge to prevent loss of higher functions during high-stress situations is paramount to the life of the subject.

For now, continued limited implementation is recommended. As of now, the cost of producing the modification is prohibitively expensive, and despite the copious benefits, current cost estimates for implementing such a modification on a larger scale are simply staggering. The 'Will of Fire' is therefore better suited to only the most highly specialized TLs, preferably the warborn destined for the nascent Darkrunner Battalions. But before they are created in truth, further field tests of this modification are required.

_-_ _Rikusho Hiruzen Sarutobi_

* * *

**A/N: The 'Yellow Flash' killed millions, but you can't hear them scream in the vacuum.**


	25. Charnel House

**A/N: Two chapters left. The Warborn must hold their own. **

**Review Replies:**

**MYK-ON: Eh, not really. As in canon, no one knows that Minato had a kid.**

**tenneyshoes: Pretty much, yeah! I debated making all the tailed beast a separate gen-mod, but it just seemed kinda dumb to me, since they would essentially they all do the same thing. And I will! :D**

**tobi-is-an-artist-too: I like all of those things! Particularly Halo and Mass Effect. One big difference is that I don't have sentient aliens in my universe. And I don't know, it seemed more out-there then other fics. Apparently, I haven't been looking hard enough haha**

**Cover Image by u/BendyWend**

**Disclaimer: I own the universe that the Naruto characters have been dropped into, but not the characters themselves.**

* * *

**Chapter 13 - Charnel House**

"Get to cover!" I yelled. Sasuke's sharingan once again held true. A low shaking reverberated through the street, shaking sand and dust off ruined buildings. One step after another, the earth shook and rattled under the weight of the approaching walker.

Boom.

_Boom._

_BOOM._

**_BOOM_****.**

I ducked under the fortifications, aiming our newly-acquired rocket launcher at the imminently approaching mass of steel. Any second now.

**_BOOM_****!** And like that, it turned around the bend in the road, and faced the hallway of death we constructed. It was titanic, reaching halfway up the four story pre-fabs. It was easily the biggest walker I'd ever seen. Autocannons and rail rifles bristled from its redoubtable hull, gleaming with dark promise and bloodthirsty war paint.

"BRING IT DOWN!" I cried, thumbing the activation switch on the rocket launcher. The targeting system opened in my H.U.D., green marks circling the monstrosity before us.

Sakura thumbed a detonator switch, and one of her satchel charges went off, rocking the ground out from underneath the walker. It stumbled and fell, unharmed, but floored.

The red targeting marks turned green, and the launcher gave me a green thumbs-up icon. I pulled the trigger, sending a rocket soaring into the air.

Rebel troops swarmed past their downed armor support, rushing forward in a surge of brown and red. Sakura pressed another button, and ten of them shattered into broken red dolls, flying apart and painting the streets. Everyone else opened up, pouring rifle-fire onto the surprised rebels. One man exploded, his head vaporizing from a well-placed shot. Doused in brains, his comrades dove to the asphalt, where they fared little better. Team 10's combined fire ground them into mincemeat.

Shaking and whirring, the walker struggled to right itself. The rocket slammed into its main hull, screaming down from the smog-choked sky. An orange fireball bloomed, swallowing its target in flames. A few troops were caught in the blaze, thrown aside like toys by the blast.

And it stood. Sparks and smoke billowed forth from its ruined face, but it stood. Missiles flew out from a pod on its shoulder, scattering in unpredictable arcs before crashing down to earth. The explosions shook us to our cores, a few landing far too close for comfort. Red sand shot into the air like bloody geysers, raining shrapnel and debris on us.

"Anyone hit?" I cried, dropping another rocket down the barrel.

"I'm grazed, but everyone else is good!" Shikamaru replied, holding the right side of his face while blood spilled through his fingers.

"Chouji! Hit it with whatever else you got!" He grunted in acknowledgement, raining grenades onto the damaged walker. Each one sheared metal off it, but got no closer to halting its advance.

Reload complete, I ducked under the hail of returning fire, trying to lock on to the walker again. We could deal with infantry, but not that fucking walker!

It locked on, but before a firing solution appeared, I had a better idea. Diving out of cover, I selected manual-fire mode, electing instead to take this thing down my own way. Kiba was the expert at this, he was our rocketeer, but I guess I would have to make do.

I inhaled sharply when a bullet whizzed past my helmet, centimeters away from braining me then and there. Aiming at the most ruined part of the walker, I squeezed the trigger. Racing forward in a straight line, the rocket struck the walker, hitting its ammunition bank and sending the whole thing sky high.

"YATTA!" We cried, as it toppled over onto the street. I rolled back into cover behind a police car, panting and grinning. Still had a ways to go, but _damn_ that was satisfying.

Sakura's Hellhound roared, suppressing the rebels that managed to find cover, and killing those that couldn't. Tracer fire raced down the street, blue streaks of light amongst the overpowering red of blood and sand.

Sasuke's rifle cracked, and each shot meant another rebel corpse. Hinata hit one that was sliding behind the hulk of the burning walker, throwing him against the blackening metal. He screamed, his hands pulling at his smoldering, sloughing skin.

I helped Sakura suppress them, watching for signs of retaliation.

"Yo, _Gunso_, should I hit the traps?" Tenten asked, ducking down from a sand box to ram another mag into her rifle.

"Wait. We don't know how many more are coming."

"In that case, watch this." She said with a grin. Reaching to her belt, she activated a small, two-wheeled contraption. Pressing a few buttons on its center, she dropped it to the ground, and it sped off into the street.

"What is that thing?" Ino asked, also reloading. Tenten grinned, and put her fingers in her ears.

Peering over the vehicle, I saw the little black device zoom into a corner that sheltered a few squads of rebels. Then it vanished with a low _THOOM_, shooting a cloud of red sand and bodies into the street.

"I've been waiting to use that." Tenten said, beaming. The rebels, decimated and shaken, sprinted back to where they came, dashing and ducking under our withering fire. A few made it.

Most didn't.

"Yeah, run you fuckers!" Chouji cried.

I breathed deep. That was one wave halted. I had no idea how many more were coming, but I knew that was only the beginning.

"Reload, check your weapons!" A few of the enemy remained, taking potshots from behind whatever they bit of cover they could find. For the most part, Hinata and Sasuke kept them locked down.

"Incoming Hoplites!" Sasuke cried.

"How many?"

"Six! At least! Followed by ten… no, eleven APCs!"

Sure enough, the treaded monsters turned the corner, grinding fallen corpses into the sand and shunting the walker wreckage aside. One fired, a thundering roar that blew the buildings above us to smithereens, showering us in dust.

Coughing, I dropped another rocket in, desperate to get a shot off before the Hoplite tore us to pieces. Before I could, I saw a small figure vault over a balcony, and dart into the street. A blue bandana was wrapped around his face.

"Don't! Don't shoot him!" I cried, and my squad obeyed, instead shifting their fire to the rebels nearest to the figure. He was a partisan, that much I could tell, but I didn't know why he was charging so recklessly at the rebels. He wasn't even armed. It looked like suicide!

Then, my questions were answered. He jumped forward when he reached the Hoplite, dropping something down its main gun. He ran towards us then, bobbing and weaving, avoiding the torrent of rebel bullets at his back.

With a muffled _wumpf_, the tank erupted, spewing flames from its main gun and its hull. The crew bailed out, screaming at the fire that consumed them.

As the partisan got closer, I realized he was young, no older than fourteen. He wore a bright smile, ecstatic from a mission complete and sheer adrenaline. He waved to us as he approached, hand raised in supplication.

His legs caught, and he stumbled and fell, his torso rent from rebel fire.

I still remember the face he made. The shock, the pain. I don't think he realized what had happened at first. Then, his hands clutched desperately at the holes that sprouted from him, and he fell to the ground, screaming incoherently.

"Ah, shit." Someone said.

"_Teme_?" I asked.

"Four in his stomach, two in his femoral. He's not gonna make it." He replied. I sighed.

"Just… do it." He didn't answer, ending the boy's pain with a crack of his rifle.

"Tough little bastard." Sasuke muttered. The words sound harsh, but back then, the way he said it… I don't know. It sounded… real to me. Fuck, I don't know.

"Hey Nii-chan," Sakura said, nudging me from my brief trance, "look." My eyes followed to where she was pointing. The tank hand been destroyed, and had jammed the street up with its mass, combining with the walker wreck, and effectively blocking the street for the rest of the rebel forces.

"That kid saved our asses." I said, a note of disbelief crawling into my voice.

"Indeed he did." Shikamaru said, eying the situation. His head was wrapped in bloodied bandages, covering the right side of his face. "So let's make the most of his sacrifice."

"What do you suggest?" I asked. "They're still all bunched up behind it, but we're locked in a stalemate." He shrugged.

"Call Dad." I grinned.

"Good idea!" He lit a cigarette in response, muttering something about 'troublesome gunsos'. I rang up Shizu-chan.

"Hey Shizu-chan, we need some artillery down here, STAT. Patch me through to Daddy Nara, would you?"

"Roger that, fire mission approved on clearance level one. Give me a second." Comms hissed as she cycled me through the channels. A gruff voice answered the call.

It was Shikaku Nara, Shikamaru's father, and the Tactical Officer aboard the Omodaru.

"Reporting."

"Hammer-Six Actual, this is Kosenjobi Actual, request immediate danger-close fire support at our beacon. Adjust aim by two hundred meters towards point… six-two-six." That should line up perfectly with the clusterfuck behind the downed Hoplite.

"This is Hammer-Six Actual, fire mission approved on target. Adjusting main cannon, over."

"Roger."

"Keep them suppressed, damn it!" I yelled to my squad, who obeyed immediately, hemming in the rebels.

"This is Hammer-Six Actual, cannon adjusted, ready to fire, over."

"Copy that, Hammer-Six Actual. Fire for effect!" We tensed.

"Firing. Standby for splash, over. In six. Five." A small star winked into existence, burning brighter and more brilliant than its heavenly company. It disappeared as quickly as it came, fading into a hollow, deafening roar.

"Four. Three."

"BRACE FOR IMPACT!" I cried, diving with my hands over my helmet.

"Two." I threw myself over Hinata, smothering her as best as I could.

"One."

The ground heaved and buckled. A white flash appeared, and the world was silent for a moment, before submitting to a mind numbing, all-consuming inferno. The air heated, ripping the breath from or throats.

And I was a little boy again. Crying. Running, while Konoha burned.

"NARUTO!" Huh?

"Up! Get up!" Sakura was here, just as before. This time, she had a hand extended. I looked around, bile building in the back of my throat. My vision shook, and Sakura's worried face split into two, into three, into four. Hinata was below me, face pressed against the sand. She was unhurt, thank God.

"C'mon!" She cried, hauling me up. Blood ran from her nose, and her helmet was askew. Ringing. That damn ringing was back. It vanished quickly, my kekkai genkai withering the pain that had flushed my body.

"Ugh. Ow." I managed. My nose was wet. I wiped it, watching blood stain the back of my armored fist. Oof.

"Holy _shit_." Hinata mouthed. She never swore, so I giggled a bit. My senses were returning to normal.

"Look." Someone said. My head crested over our cover, revealing a hellish landscape before me. The street had disappeared, swallowed by a flaming crater. Our defenses now sat on the top of a shallow cliff, so powerful was the blast. The pre-fabs that had previously lined the street vanished, leaving an open and twisted landscape in its place. In truth, the street was no longer a street.

The rebel vehicles had vanished, bits of blackened metal the only thing that remained. The corpses that had not been consumed in the explosion were set alight, disturbed from their rest by the _Omodaru_'s strike.

It took my breath away, both literally and figuratively. I panted and wheezed. I had taken a huge risk calling the steel rain down so close to our own heads. I trusted Shikaku though, and rightly so. Any approaching rebel forces had been ground to a halt.

"WHOOOOOOO!" Chouji cried, throwing his hands up in the air. We laughed, whooping and coughing at the successful strike.

"This is," I coughed. "Kosenjobi Actual. Good effect on target. Enemy task force destroyed."

"Copy that. That's the last one you get. Reloading will take another two hours."

"Hard copy, Hammer-Six Actual. Thanks for the help."

"Anytime. Tell Shika-kun to lay off the cigarettes." We snorted with laughter. Hell, even Neji cracked a smile. "Hammer-Six Actual, out."

Shikamaru raced to disobey his father, hands reaching for a lighter. Finding it, he lit up, inhaling deeply.

"You have a pretty cool dad, Shikamaru." I said.

"Hn." He said, mimicking Sasuke in his dismissal. We laughed again.

"No time for rest, Kosenjobi!" I called. "Shore up any holes in the defenses. Get the flanks covered too." They complied, and I helped, before stray rebel survivors tried to pick us off. They were unsuccessful, but forced us to stop working. We returned fire, and they retreated.

So we picked up our shovels again. And so it went for an hour or so, building our defenses, getting shot at, shooting back, building again. It was painfully obvious that they were testing us, prodding our defenses.

We couldn't do anything about it. Orders are orders, so we weren't going anywhere. I had Shizu-chan drop us some more ammo. We were still stuck, but the artillery had done serious damage to the rebels. It would be awhile before they counterattacked. Hopefully, our allies would get here first, and we could get off this horrid rock.

The strain of the past few days was getting to us. Ino started shaking, her body deprived of food and sleep. Sasuke started muttering to himself, whispering observations into his mouthpiece.

"Collapsed balcony. Possible rebel approach vector. Marked for future reference."

I checked my mag for what must have been the fourth time since we last had contact with the rebels. Still loaded, thirty-six brass death sentences packed tight into the boxy gunmetal. I pushed it back in with a _snap-click_.

Hinata remained calm and collected, scanning the gutted ruins of the street before her. A few bullets whizzed by overhead, and she snapped her rifle around, but couldn't find the shooter. I sighed.

Sakura leaned against a ruined car, her LMG braced and ready to fire. With a deep, rattling breath, she took off her helmet, wiping her sweat-stained face with her hitae-ate before returning it to its place. Sasuke snapped on comms.

"It's here." No one asked what _it_ was. Sakura grimaced, strapping her helmet on and settling into a crouch. She nodded at me.

"Ok, everyone, they're coming. Pick your targets and _drop_ them. Watch the flanks, and mark anyone you can't hit. _Teme_," I asked, "any vehicle support?"

"Two tanks, and a good number of IFV's." (Infantry fighting vehicle… think APCs but with bigger guns).

"I'll try to call in whatever support I can."

"We'll need it, _dobe_."

I called up Shizu-chan just as the torrent of bullets began.

"Shizu-chan, this is Kosenjobi-Actual! We need some fire support, whatever you can give us, over!"

"Copy that, Kosenjobi-Actual. I'll try to bring in some forward elements. Expect it in the next six minutes or so. Do your best to hold out until then, over." A tracer screamed past my head, missing my head by a few centimeters.

"Fuck!" I returned fire, hammering the trigger with extreme prejudice. "We'll do what we can, out!" I crouched behind the fortifications, struggling to load a new mag in. Bullets thudded into my cover. They certainly had our number.

"Sakura, keep 'em down!"

"Hai!" she yelled. Her Hellhound whirred and spat pure death, butchering the approaching green-clad forms in a hail of fire. The others dived down, crawling behind debris and into ditches for cover.

One form peered out from cover and his head exploded, picking him up and throwing him to the floor in a spray of red. The corpse's arms flailed, his legs jerking and kicking.

"That's their officer." Sasuke growled, already selecting a new target.

A roar echoed across the battlefield, and our first barricade flew apart in a cascading shower of burnt and broken metal. A second roar, and a screaming whistle flew over our heads, the explosive round crashing into a building far behind us.

"GET BACK!" I roared, waving my arms at whoever was still behind the first barricade. Sakura, Tenten, and Chouji clambered over the second row of barricades, dodging the flurry of death that howled around them.

I braced the rocket launcher against my shoulder, looking for the culprit. I didn't get the chance, as the building besides me split apart under combined IFV fire. Dust and debris erupted from the collapsing building, choking the air with sand and obscuring the rebels.

"AUGH!" Sasuke cried, falling from his perch as his cover broke apart and buried him.

"Sasuke!" Sakura screamed.

"I'm," He gave a rattling cough, "Okay. Fuuuuuuuuck. I think my leg is broken. Ow. Son of a _BITCH_!"

"Someone dig him out!" I cried, returning to my hunt. I found it then, a hulking black beast. Rebel troops rode desant, spilling off the IFV like hornets out of a recently-kicked nest. I put it in my sights, squeezing the trigger to let the targeting solution derive itself.

More tracer fire raced across the night sky, bright blue streaks dancing in the ruddy mess of Erebus.

"C'mon." The crosshair focused on the vehicle, numbers and letters spilling across my H.U.D.

"AUUUUGHH!" Sasuke screamed as Shikamaru pulled him from the wreckage. "Oh _God_ it _hurts_!" I blocked it out.

"C'mon."

"Sakura!" Shikamaru yelled.

"I'm coming!" She replied. A burst of rounds before Sakura dashed behind me. The rocket launcher blipped, and a thumbs-up icon appeared again. Bingo. I squeezed the trigger, and the rocket screamed off towards its target.

Then a Hoplite fired.

The world was red and sand. It was spinning, rolling, bouncing crashing. I didn't even realize I had been hit until I came to a rest, my arm dangling over the precipice that looked over Erebus' plumbing.

"Ah." Was all I could say. Up was down. Left was up, and right was back. Disoriented and pained, I got to my knees before I vomited. The pain disappeared, as it always does, but the confusion stayed. I tried to check myself over before a rough hand dragged me into cover.

"Uwah." I said, thanking the kind soul. Black hair and white eyes stared back. Hinata. It was Hinata. The hand was Hinata. She was beside me. To my right. Or… fuck, I couldn't tell. I vomited again.

"Naruto!" She said.

"Dazed. A little dazed." I managed. From what I could piece together, the Hoplite round must have struck my cover. Or the ground right before it. Probably the second one. Oh. Oh shit. Where was Sasuke and Sakura? Did Shikamaru get them down in time? I stumbled over to where I had been, trying to ignore the small-arms fire that pattered against our defenses like rain from a hurricane.

"You." Ugh. Ow. "You guys ok over there?"

"We're alive!" Sakura cried. I couldn't see her with all the dust and sand that had kicked up in the firefight. Sasuke gave a roar of pain and a stream of invective. I needed to cover them. Where was my M-34?

Ah. I found it lying in the dirt. I must have let go somehow. I snapped it up and rammed a mag home.

"They're pressing up!" Neji cried, his shotgun blaring. Where the hell was our support? I fired around the new hole in our defenses. I couldn't see much, but I had to try. They were getting closer. I could hear English screams and commands echoing over the tumultuous gunfire.

I ducked behind cover, panting. My senses were still not back to normal. I looked down at my hands. Vomit stained the front of my armor, which was chipped and broken. Some of my equipment had been blown away. I couldn't tell what it was at the moment though, I could barely count my _fingers_.

"Grenades!" I coughed.

"Right away, _gunso_!" Tenten cried. "C'mon you big lug," she tapped the back of Chouji's helmet, "get a move on!" Together, they sent frags screaming downrange, where they shattered and burst, tearing our enemies to pieces.

But their assault was not impeded. Uncountable boots stampeded towards us, our deaths demanded by the lips of furious men.

Then, I heard it. Over the storm of gunfire, over the screams of the wounded, over the chaos and death that surrounded us, I heard it.

Strings. Swelling, cascading like a flooding river. Behind them lay the blare of horns, low and ominous.

It was tune I'd recognize anywhere, and one I'll never forget for the rest of my life.

Our support had arrived, and they were blaring Ride of The Valkyries.

"YOU ASSHOLES STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM MY BOYFRIEND!" Comms screeched. The voice was unmistakable.

Temari no Sabaku.

The ground shuddered and shook, the feet of three walkers bending it to their will. The Sand Siblings had arrived, and with them, an arsenal of death.

A blue fireball blossomed beyond our cover, splitting a Hoplite apart and shooting shrapnel across the battlefield.

I will never attempt to glorify war, but… _wow_. The music, the walkers… it was all so... unspeakably _majestic_.

"FUCK YEAH!" Sakura cheered, pumping a fist into the air.

"Heard you guys needed some assistance." Gaara droned, his Walker spitting thousands of spent cases. The earth before him exploded, rippling and bursting apart under a shower of autocannon rounds.

"I SWEAR IF SHIKA-KUN'S BEEN HURT, I WILL FUCK. YOU. UP!" Temari roared, her walker erupting in a shower of smoke as her missiles launched.

"They can't understand you, sis." Kankuro drawled. His walker jumped over our defenses, sixty-eight tons of metal soaring over my head. It crashed down to earth, scattering the rebels before it. He mowed them down.

The missiles impacted in the middle of the rebel assault, detonating the IFVs in a shower of sparks and fire, and ripping rebel soldiers apart, throwing their broken carcasses into the night sky. Turning my head away from the carnage, I looked at Shikamaru. He was utterly slack-jawed, his arms hanging loosely at his side.

"Boyfriend?" I asked. He didn't reply. Instead, he took a cigarette with trembling hands, lighting it with great difficulty. Another barrage of missiles shot forth, piercing the suffocating haze of war with whining cries. They detonated, more fuel for the funeral pyre that was Unification.

"You like THAT?!" Temari yelled, desperate to be heard over Wagner's thunderous trumpeting.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru said to no one in particular, more terrified than aggravated. "Troublesome. Troublesome." He slowly folded into the fetal position in an attempt to burrow into the sand and escape the pure, object terror that was his girlfriend. A few rockets whistled past the walkers, the rebels too shocked and panicked to form an effective defense.

"Deploying Tsunami." Gaara said. "Watch the Hoplite on your three."

"Copy that, bro." Kankuro said. Rifle fire pattered off their hulls, metal ringing noises that did little more than flick away chips of paint.

With a high-pitched needling sound, Gaara's Tsunami system activated, spraying hundreds of minuscule, self-guided bombs into the rebels. They detonated, waves of flame bursting into existence among the fleeing rebels.

Explosive rounds tore into Temari's walker, the _tessen_ pattern on the face of her walker buckling under the punishment.

"Is that the best you got?" She snorted, returning fire with her rail rifle. The offending vehicle split apart, vanishing under the sheer firepower. Plasma from the heated cannon hissed and spluttered, the boiling matter extinguished by the cold night air. It spat another round into the last Hoplite. Striking its fuel tank, it burst into flames, shooting a towering blaze a dozen meters into the air.

Kankuro fired his Scorpion, and the ruined street erupted into a raging inferno. Fire swept across the debris-strewn field, catching the rebels and swallowing them whole. The remaining rebel vehicles spun around, desperate to escape the murderous onslaught.

They didn't.

"YOSH!" Lee cheered. An IFV bowled over from the force of a missile, careening and spewing flame. Its comrades suffered a similar fate, all split and sundered by the Sand Sibling's assault. Black metal and wreckage strewed the ground.

The annihilation of the rebels was total and all-consuming. Their butchery complete, the walkers returned to us.

We gave them a rousing cheer, saluting with wide smiles and tired faces. We tried to ignore the smells around us.

* * *

**A/N: The one Hinata shot had two daughters. Lovely girls, the both of them.**


	26. Interlude XIII

**A/N: Please, review! I love hearing what you guys have to say! Also, there will be two interludes between chapters 14 and 15. Just so ya know.**

**Review Replies:**

**ArtanisRose: hehe glad you enjoyed it!**

* * *

Interlude 13

**Excerpt from "****_Unification Investigations: Personal Reports and Accounts of the Most Destructive War in History_****" by Dr. Naota Haruno.**

I'm sitting across from Sakura Haruno, a decorated war hero, a warborn Marine, and my mother. We're in my rural childhood home in Weston-on-the-Green, England. It's been awhile since I've been home, but the place has hardly changed. Thick books sit atop dusty antiques, and my mother's guitar is in its usual spot by the fireplace.

She sits across from me, tapping her foot. She's huge. Intimidating. Growing up in her massive shadow was challenging. She was a kind and supportive mother, but I remember the stares from my classmates and their parents, harsh and fearful. I didn't figure out she was warborn until I was ten, at which point she explained her nature to me, adding that she didn't want to talk about her Unification days. However, her words, and the piles of antiques she keeps stuffed away in our cellar piqued a lifelong interest, one that led me to my childhood home today.

She breaks the silence.

"Are you here to tell me you're getting married?" I sigh.

"No, Mom." She and dad have been on a 'give us grandchildren' trip for a few months now, ever since I obtained my PhD.

"Your father won't be pleased to hear that."

"I know. I'm here to talk to you about my latest project."

"What? Are they not keeping you busy enough at the University?"

"I don't lecture very often, Mom. The freshmen don't take me seriously, considering I'm only a few years older than them." She sighs, defeated.

"Ok then. What do you want?"

"I'm compiling some personal accounts of Unification. I've begun work on a definitive textbook with some colleagues as well, but the human perspective of history is infinitely more fascinating." I explained.

"So you came to me? Your mother? Isn't that a conflict of interest?" When Mom wanted to be stubborn, Mom got _stubborn_. I shrug.

"You're warborn." She tenses at this.

"So you've come for war stories? I can't _believe_ it. You've managed to turn your childhood obsession into a career." There's a silence before we share a brief laugh.

"You got me, Mom. No, the real reason is that it's hard getting warborn to do interviews. There aren't many left. And you don't have to give me anything too gruesome, don't worry, I've already heard my fair share of horror stories. But I think a story about the… differences between warborn and the regular enlisted would be particularly illuminating." She leans back into the couch, worn black leather hissing softly.

"I can do that."

"Are there any particular instances where these differences made themselves known?" Her eyes seem to cloud with memories, and she takes a deep breath.

"The differences only became apparent when we fought with them. This happened more and more frequently as the war dragged on, but I really noticed it earlier in my career. A few months after our first deployment, we were stuck on Haelisgaard."

"You fought at _Haelisgaard_?" She ignores this.

"We were mixed up with the Planetary Forces, holding a stretch of a coastal city." She continued. "The rebels shelled us with these big beastly ground-pounders. The regulars were pissing themselves, whimpering and praying and crying."

"And you didn't."

"I don't blame them, but no. We didn't. We watched the perimeter like we were fucking _supposed_ to."

* * *

**A/N: "Mommy, what did you do in the war?"**

**"Things that haunt me to this day."**


	27. Fractured Minds and Patchwork People

**A/N: The penultimate chapter. Remember, there will be two interludes before chapter 15.**

**Review Replies:**

**iyaoyas: Thanks so much for your kind words! In the original version of the story, the song they use is actually Offenbach's Infernal Galop. :D Equally fun, but for different reasons. For me at least, using Offenbach is slightly more fucked up in terms of dissonance. Also, my primary inspiration for the way I write is probably the documentary Restrepo, something you should find the time to watch. Thanks again for your continued support, as well as your service.**

**tenneyshoes: Naota's been in the story since the beginning, but I don't think I'll put too much more of him in. Sorry! I like him too. :/**

**Cover Image by u/BendyWend**

**Disclaimer: I own this universe, but not Naruto.**

* * *

**Chapter 14: Fractured Minds and Patchwork People**

The Sand Siblings briefly exited their walkers to greet us. I shook Gaara's hand firmly, and a rare smile spread across his face. I gave him a hug too, much to his surprise. He laughed.

"Thanks buddy. You really pulled our asses out of the fire on that one."  
"It's you guys we should be thanking. You and a few other of your Konoha friends are holding off the bulk of rebel reinforcements. We're making mincemeat of them back there." I beamed, rubbing the back of my head.

"We're trying. Still no orders to back out though. You guys gonna stick around and help us hold the line?" Gaara's face darkened behind his visor.

"We're due back on the front in a few more minutes. Tsunade-sama thinks this lot," he jerked his thumbs at the piles of corpses beyond the barricades, "was the last big group."

"You don't buy it."

"No. I think we're due for another counter-attack. I tried to argue my point, but she's having none of it. She thinks helping the main group push up should be our priority."

"I thought you said you were-" He waved his hand.

"I think she's just being overly cautious. Can't blame her. We're doing ok though." I punched his shoulder, a weak attempt to lighten the mood.

"A fair bit better than ok, I'd say. You guys kick _serious_ ass." He gave me a small grin, the dark lines under his teal eyes seeming to sink further into his face.

"Suna, born and raised." He replied. I laughed, and looked at his brother and sister. Temari was berating Shikamaru, her pony tails stirring in the breeze.

"Oh. My. **_GOD_**. What happened to your _face_? Do you know how unbelievably _dumb_ it was calling danger-close artillery like that?" He nodded. "You could have been killed! By your own dad no less!" A nod. "And do you know how worried I was ever since I heard about the flak? How many times did I tell you to apply for pilot school?! It's too _dangerous_ on foot! But oh no, 'it's such a pain'! I mean, p_lease_!" Shikamaru sighed, taking a deep drag on his cigarette before stomping it into the sand.

"_Well_?" She demanded. He kissed her, turning her face a brilliant red and stilling her protests in a crushing embrace. This was met with jeers and derisive hooting from the rest of the squad.

"I know. Thanks for the save, Hon. You're scary as shit by the way." She gave him a devious smile.

"I-I'll take that as a compliment."

Kankuro was hitting on Tenten, surprise surprise. It was a pretty odd seeing her laugh at his stupidity though. Even more so considering the absurd purple war paint that covered his face. Neji didn't find the situation amusing in the least.

"Keep an eye on your brother." I said to Gaara. "He's about to enter a world of shit." He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Thanks. But we should get going. I'll try to stay as near as I can without pissing off Tsunade-sama."

"Thanks, man." He shrugged.

"It's the least I can do." He yelled at his siblings, and they said their goodbyes. Temari snatched a cigarette from Shikamaru, twirling it in her fingers before kissing him deeply. She strode away towards her walker, swaying her hips as seductively as possible.

"See you on the _Omodaru_, Shika-kun~" She cooed, giving him a wave.

"God, sis, you're so embarrassing." Kankuro whined.

"Yeah, yeah. Now wrap up your pathetic pick-up attempts and get your ass in gear." Kankuro waved her off, saying his goodbyes to the squad. They were sad to see him go (except for Neji). He and Kiba were a great source of levity back at the Academy.

Clambering into to their walkers, the Sand Siblings strode away. I owed them big, probably for the rest of my life.

I turned to my squad. They were happy at seeing some old comrades, and re-invigorated for the last stretch of the battle, and our last few hours on Erebus. If we were lucky, Obaa-chan was right, and we'd only get sporadic prods at our defenses until the P.F. showed. Otherwise, we were in for a rough time.

"AH _GOD_!" Well, rougher.

"You ok, Sasuke?" I asked, jogging over to my wounded squadmate.

"Pretty fuckin' far from ok." He spat, clutching his broken leg. Bent at an unnatural angle and weeping blood, it was _not_ a pretty sight.

"I don't think I've ever heard you say so much, _teme_." He grimaced.

"Really. Right now? You're doing this right now?" Blood rushed to my head, after effects of my previous disorientation. I stumbled, before falling into Hinata's arms.

"Careful, Naruto-kun." I nodded.

"We need to dig in even more. Chances are if we get attacked again, we'll be in trouble." I said, coughing. The dust had yet to settle, and we remained engulfed by red clouds of grit. I walked over to Sasuke's Type-72, which had miraculously survived its fall. Pressing it into his hands, I gave him a nod.

"You're a big boy."

"_Dobe_." He said through gritted teeth. Sakura was looking over his leg, cutting away the cloth around it to get a better look at the wound. When she pulled a layer of blood-soaked fatigues back, I nearly choked. A sliver of bone stuck out through Sasuke's kneecap, weeping gore.

Sakura, ever the professional, looked at me.

"Nii-chan?"

"On it." I covered his mouth, careful not to aggravate the bandage on his face.

"Do-_mmf_!" Sakura doused the wound in disinfectant, and Sasuke's red eyes ripped open in agony. His muffled screams did not escape my hand. Next, she sprayed a liberal dose of med-foam on the area. He stopped struggling after awhile.

"Ah, that's… better. Ooh. Ow. Fuck." He said, letting the nerve-dimmer in the med-foam do its work.

"Go check on the others." I told Sakura. "He'll live." She nodded, looking hesitantly at Sasuke before obeying.

"Sometimes I think you got the best of the kekkai genkai." Sasuke muttered, pushing himself up against a broken wall. If only he knew.

"I remember thinking it would make me a total badass."

"Looks like you thought wrong." He sneered.

"Thanks. Dick." He waved me off, checking his rifle. Sakura stooped over Tenten, making sure her wound wasn't bothering her. Lee had a sprained ankle, but was otherwise fine. I sat down next to Sasuke.

"She loves you, you know." He didn't reply. "And I know she kissed you." His head snapped around.

"What."

"I know you promised to give her another one, too." I checked over my equipment before giving him a wry grin. "It's crazy how different you are when you think no one's around."

"It's not that, _dobe_."

"Then what is it?"

"I think she was right about a few things, is all." I considered this for a moment, while artillery sounded in the distance. More small-arms fire accompanied it. A fireball burst into existence beyond the bridge, onto rebel lines. Our salvation was nearly here.

"Just treat her right, ok?"

He smiled, leaning his head against the wall. He didn't say anything.

I stood, feeling a twinge in my gut. That bullet wound better not have re-opened. I walked over to Hinata, who was snapping rounds into a few spare mags.

"Hey there, Hinata-_hime_." _Click_. A smile.

"Hello, Naruto-kun. Is Sasuke ok?"

"Broken leg, but a few weeks on the _Omodaru_ will fix 'im right up."

"Good." _Click_. "That looked like a nasty fall." _Click_. "Are you ok, Naruto-kun?" She paused for a second, staring into my eyes. Her byakugan twitched, the circles in her eye focusing and unfocusing.

"I'm ok. Could do with some ramen." She giggled at this, covering her mouth again with that adorable gesture.

"I bet." She said with a happy sigh. _Click_. "I think you're too much of a tough guy to admit it if you weren't." I pouted. My witty retort was bitten off when Hinata shoved my face into the sand.

"Hin-" Then I heard her scream, followed by the report of a far-away rifle. Everything slowed down.

"AHHH!" She wailed, falling forward on top of me. "I'm- I'm hit!" She cried. "Contacts six o'clock!" I snapped up. Hinata had saved my life. A red hole in her leg gushed blood onto the sand in rushing, regular spurts. I rolled over in front of her, snatching up my rifle and pouring fire down in the general direction of the enemy.

"Get down!" I ordered. "Nee-chan! Hinata's been shot!" Sakura responded instantly, dashing over to our position before sliding besides us.

"TAKE THIS!" She screamed over the Kosenjobi's combined fire. She hefted her Hellhound at me, and I caught it readily. She attended to the wound on Hinata's leg. Those bastards had almost killed her.

I racked the big gun; a satisfying _shick-shack _was my answer. I spun the barrels up, searching for targets.

Sasuke spotted them immediately, despite his injury.

"Two squads, left side of the bridge! Ground floor!"

I fired before I checked for targets, and the Hellhound bellowed. Casings fluttered out of the LMG, pooling beside me in a tower of brass. Dust sprang out from the windows, impacts of the 7.62mm rounds tearing into the rebel's cover.

"Give me my rifle, Naruto!" Hinata said, a bullet embedding itself in the fortification to her right.

"Stay down! Let us handle this!" A bullet whistled over my head, a high-pitched whine that set my spine on fire.

"Contacts! We have enemy foot-mobiles on our twelve!" So, we were surrounded, outflanked. Fuck. Reluctantly, I tossed Hinata her rifle, and an unspoken 'be safe' passed between us. Hinata crawled to it, grimacing in agony.

"Sakura, keep watch over Sasuke. We need everyone on point!" She nodded, picking up my M-34 and crawling over to him before burying herself into the ground to avoid the bullets that flew over her head.

"Bring the ones in the back down first!" I let my barrage stop for a moment, picking out targets that dashed between window frames. I dropped them, the Hellhound glowing orange from the volume of fire.

Hinata was hit again, three rounds tearing into the same leg, as well as her ankle. I felt her blood wash over me, and heard her scream over the howling gunfire.

"HINATA!" She was bent over on the ground, screaming and clutching her shattered leg. "Hinata look at me. C'mon _hime_, look at me." She tried her best, fighting the pain. More whistles and tracer fire raked our position.

It was utter hell.

"Two! Two in the third window!"

"Mark them, goddamnit!"

"I tagged one, got four more coming up on the right!"

Hinata sobbed, clutching onto my arm with a death grip. I grabbed her cheek, telling her it was gonna be ok. She nodded, tears spilling out from under her visor. "Take the Hellhound, I'll patch you up!" I yelled to her. Writhing in the dirt, she wormed her way into a firing position, seething and whimpering with pain.

I moved down, spraying med-foam into her wounds. It probably didn't do much, but I had to do something. Anything. Hinata opened fire, and I joined her, trying to lock down the rebels.

"I'm out!" She cried, wincing. Sakura threw a drum from a few meters away. From what I could tell in all the chaos, she was spotting for Sasuke, keeping her head low.

We couldn't keep this up. We could try, but we wouldn't last more than a few mintues.

"Shizune! Shizune we need backup ASAP!"

"We're still reloading, Kosenjobi-Actual."

"Get us walker support then! Anything! We're getting murdered out here!"

"I'll see what I can do. Things are heating up on the frontlines. Hold as best you can, out!" Oh, we were _humped_. A billion possibilities ran through my head. We couldn't run, we'd abandon the mission and likely get slaughtered in the process. We couldn't move out and engage our flankers directly. We were pinned, and feeling it.

"Lee, Chouji, try to get the guys on our twelve. Do _not_ let them get within a hundred meters!"

Hinata racked the Hellhound, unleashing another barrage of bullets on the rebels. Despite the onslaught, they pressed forward, inching closer to the bridge.

"Naruto!" Gaara! Support!

"We are getting royally _fucked_ out here, can you come clear some rebels for us?"

"I'll do my best," he growled, "but we're hard pressed. Got ambushed by a squad of walkers. Kankuro got shot down but he ejected."

"Anything, man!" He grunted in acknowledgement.

"How are you doing Hinata?"

"My leg is in agony, and this wretched gun is bruising the hell out my shoulder!" She was shouting, which was a good sign. And if she could feel the pain, that meant she wasn't going into shock. All good. I hoped those bullets didn't hit anything-

My right arm jerked back, a bullet piercing through muscle and skin before embedding itself in our cover.

"ARGH, GOD _DAMNIT_." I huffed, before the pain dissolved. I found myself clutching the wound, which was just above my elbow, leaving a small hole on the inside of my arm. The round had just slipped underneath my armor.

I flexed my hand, still usable. Good. I could keep fighting.

"N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked.

"A scratch. Keep them pinned! I'll go check on the others!" Grabbing my rifle, I crawled over to Tenten and Neji, who were busy trying to get some better cover for us, with mild success.

Tenten was patting her webbing, looking for another mag. I dug one out with my wounded arm, wincing at the dull ache as I did so. She took it and rammed it home, stopping her fire for barely a second.

"_TEME_! I need your eyes! How many we got?"

"I see four squads, and a few machine gun teams! They're getting desperate to dig us out."

Sakura pointed, jerking a finger to a ruined garbage truck on the other side of the crevasse. Saskue pivoted immediately, breathing a slow and measured breath before squeezing the trigger. Nine hundred meters away, the faint spot of a rebel fell into the street.

"Nice shot, _teme_."

"_Dobe_, you haven't seen anything yet. Hey! Walkers! They're ours!" True enough, Temari and Gaara's walkers stepped out of a street beyond the bridge, weapons hot. "Shit, we got a mortar team! They- get down!" Too late, I heard the whistle of an incoming shell. Sasuke dove on top of Sakura, and I rolled into a small ditch nearby.

An explosion, only a few meters away. Sand and broken asphalt soared over me, covering me in debris. I crawled out of my ditch.

Sasuke wasn't moving.

"Sasuke!" Sakura cried.

"Hey, c'mon, _teme_!" I moved to roll him off Sakura, when I noticed the holes. Four of them, gaping wide and weeping blood.

"Oh God." Sakura's eyes went wide when she heard me. She scooted out from underneath his form, bleeding from her ears and gaps in her armor.

"SASUKE!"

"I'm… here." He managed, coughing.

"Oh God, let me get the med-foam!"

"It… won't help, Sakura." Sasuke said. "It… won't help."

"No, c'mon Sasuke-kun! Nii-chan, call a medivac!" I was just selecting the channel when Sasuke reached up and grabbed my arm, shaking his head.

"Thanks, but-" He succumbed to a coughing fit, spraying blood down his front and out of his mouth.

"Wasted effort." He said.

"Nonononono." Sakura whimpered, ignoring his demands and spraying med-foam into the sucking wounds. It didn't do much. The holes were too big, and most of the foam just spilled onto the crimson, blood-soaked sand.

"No, c'mon _teme_, you gotta stay with us."

"Thanks for being my first friend, Naruto. I'm still mad you beat me at Assault Tactics." I wiped my eyes, not realizing I was crying.

"You…jackass, you arrogant jackass." I said, not believing the sight before me. Sasuke took Sakura's hand, gently removing it from his wounds.

"Looks like you were right, they didn't care."

"Sasuke-"

"It's pretty clear now. I was such an ass. Arrogant, cold even." He chuckled, a weak and pitiful sound that left trails of blood running from his lips. His breaths came ragged and stuttered. "Thank you. I love you both." He pulled Sakura in for a kiss, pressing his bloodied lips to hers.

"No time for a shower, I guess. Hn." He smiled, and died.

My mind went blank. Everything seemed to crash and burn. Sakura was crying, weeping, blubbering. Saskue went limp in her broad arms, life leaving his body.

It didn't seem real. Nothing seemed real anymore.

"SASUKE!" Sakura yelled, shaking the corpse. "SASUKE!" She dropped him, frantically attempting C.P.R..

A hand went to my mouth. I couldn't stop the tears from flowing. He was alive just a minute ago. Living, breathing, sweating, cursing. And now. Gone. Just like Kiba. Gone. All those years. Gone. Hinata crawled over to me.

"Naru-" She stopped when she saw the body. "No."

That's when the second shell hit.

I was thrown back, on top of Hinata. Sakura was blown to the side, and smashed against the wall. She screamed in pain and grief. Ringing. The ringing was back.

I seemed to be ok. Hinata! Was Hinata ok? I couldn't lose her, not so soon after Sasuke. I rolled off, an intense pain shooting through me before dying away.

She looked up at me, tears streaming down her face. The city burned in her eyes, reflected on her pale byakugan. Her eyes were nothing but pain, and it hurt worse than any injury.

I snatched up my rifle to return fire. Anything, anything to make the hurting stop. But the rifle didn't move. I tried again, trying to scoop the weapon up. Nothing.

"Oh, Naruto-kun!" Hinata shouted.

"Hm? What is it?" She pointed, and the breath left my body. I wasn't picking up the rifle because I didn't have an arm to do it with.

Oh.

Everything past my right elbow had vanished, replaced with jagged bone and a slow, steady stream of blood. I sagged to the earth, nausea taking me. I looked over and saw Sasuke's corpse. A smile was still on his face, eyes closed in repose.

Was this it? Was this how everything ended? Was this the end of my life? Of everyone's life? My head was turned around, and I found Hinata's face staring into mine. And she slapped me. Hard.

"YOU STAY WITH ME, NARUTO-KUN." I reached to feel my stinging face, but doused myself in blood from my arm instead. "You can't go!" A hand caressed the side of my face, gentle, soft.

"Because…I love you."

"Hinata… I…I… love you too."

"Now get out there, and fix this, like you always do. And _live_, God _damn_ it." She said. And I would. I will for her, and the rest of my comrades, for my sister Sakura and my dead brothers.

"Hinata, get me a tourniquet." She complied, digging one out from my pack. A crackle in my headset, and Gaara hailed me on comms.

"Naruto, we took care of these guys, but we're ordered back for the final push. I'm sorry. Good hunting."

"Understood, over."

I wrapped the tourniquet over my arm, and had Hinata pull it tight. I'd lose my arm, but if it stopped me from bleeding out, it was a welcome price. Sakura sat against the broken wall, weeping into her hands.

"Sakura. Sakura. Nee-chan." She looked up, eyes red-rimmed. "Nee-chan." I showed her my arm, and her eyes went down. "Later. We'll have time later. Now, we kill. For his sake. Help me get us out of here."

"Nii-chan." She said simply, crawling forward. Hinata pushed her Hellhound towards her.

"They're still pressing us pretty bad, and we need you, Nee-chan." She nodded, wiping the tears away with an armored fist, the look of grief replaced with one of furious anger.

I stumbled over to the barricades, trying to get an eye on the enemy. Thanks to their flanking friends, they had advanced within spitting distance, hammering us with fire. There were so many.

"Neji! Mow them down!" He didn't say anything, instead unloading his entire drum into the rebels. "Sakura!" She obeyed, firing the Hellhound for all it was worth. I tore grenades from my webbing. Flashbangs, incendiary grenades, my last frag. Anything to halt their final advance.

A cry rang up from the rebels, and they stormed the barricades, bayonets flashing in the dying moonlight. They flew over the rubble and debris, legs pumping and weapons firing.

I tore my sidearm from its holster. I was terrible with my left hand, but I had to try. I emptied the pistol, burying each bullet into a rebel, which did nothing to stop the assault. Then, as one, they poured over our cover, and we fought for our lives.

Tearing my knife from its sheath, I buried it in the neck of the first man I saw. He grasped at his neck, choking and spluttering. Blood spewed between his fingertips, but I was already onto the next one. I bashed his head in with the butt of the knife, he went down. I stabbed another, tearing his heart open. Then the next died. And the next.

Lee tore his way through the rebels, a maelstrom of kicks, punches, and an arcing, bloody knife. Ino fired her submachine gun, rounds ripping into the attackers at point blank, chewing them into pieces.

I dodged a bayonet strike from one rebel, ducking under the blow to bring my knife into his lungs. Neji opened up with his shotgun, and the soldiers evaporated into red mists, spraying their comrades in viscera.

More, still more.

Ducking and weaving, my mind started to fade, falling into the rhythm of murder. I remember everything from the next few minutes, but don't recall being in control. I lost my knife at one point, it was lodged too deep in a rebel skull. I resorted to my fist, pummeling anyone who approached into a pulp. Another came. I sidestepped her attack, grabbed her head, and slammed her neck onto a broken shard of metal. Speared, she sunk to the ground, arms flailing. I pushed forward through the crowd, taking an assault rifle off a corpse. I fired all of it into whatever targets I could find. When it emptied, I leaped into the air and jammed it down a rebel's throat, crashing down on top of him. The man's jaw was torn off, and he collapsed, gunmetal rammed into his innards.

Red, all I saw was **red**. Death surrounded and consumed me, and I succumbed to the berserker's rage. A knife made its way into my chest, but I ignored it. Didn't hurt anyway. My squad mates fought on, baring their souls as they flanked me.

I pushed forward still, my missing arm a small hindrance. A man stepped in front of me. A foolish mistake. _I'm sorry_ I thought, as I picked him up by his collar and broke his back over my knee. _I'm so_ _sorry_. I vaulted over our barricades, roaring a wordless war cry. My squad echoed me, and followed. I picked up more pistols, firing them into countless faces.

When they ran out of ammo, I used them to bludgeon until they broke. Again and again, over and over, their faces impaled, twisted, shattered, necks slit, bones broken. The last one to face me raised a pistol, firing twice into my flank. I didn't feel it. I picked him up by his throat. He struggled and kicked. Fear poured from the man, overwhelming and choking in its fullness.

I roared at him, this one man. He pissed himself, the cloying scent of urine choking my nostrils. I dropped him to the ground, twisting, pulling, yanking at his arm. I pushed my boot into his chest. He cried out in pain, and his arm tore loose from its socket. I beat him to death with it, mindless in my rage and hatred and grief.

That broke them.

The rebels fled, dropping their weapons and scattering into their ruined streets, shouts of 'demon!' and pleas for mercy fading into the air. I roared again, brandishing my gruesome trophy before me. My vision went dark.

I sank to my knees, exhaustion overcoming me. The red in my vision faded away, filled instead with the worried and terrified faces of my friends. They were alive. Hinata, Sakura, Neji, Ino, Chouji, Shikamaru, Lee, Tenten. All alive, all breathing. I did it.

"Naruto-kun." Hinata breathed. I looked down. There was no part of me that remained untouched. I was drenched in blood, from head to toe. Some of it was mine, most wasn't. My vision went blurry. I couldn't see much. I waved my squad mates away. I was ok. I made it.

I managed to crawl back to our defenses, aided by my friends.

I collapsed next to Sasuke's corpse, smiling for some god-forsaken reason. Dawn was breaking over the city. Golden-orange light spilled through the broken buildings and burning homes, resplendent and hideously, grossly red.

"I did it, buddy. They're safe. For now." A tear wound its way down my cheek, washing away the blood and grime. Sakura scooped me up in her arms, and began running at the approaching Hegemony vehicles.

"MEDIVAC! WE NEED MEDIVAC! NOW!"

Blackness.

* * *

The next thing I remember was the sense of weightlessness, and Hinata above me. She was clasping my hand, a far-away look in her eyes. She was staring at nothing and everything all at once, her eyes unmoving and static. Deadened by the painkillers and the horrors she'd seen. Blood clung to her face, rippling and shifting without gravity to let it fall.

We had gotten off-world then. Thank God. I groaned, looking around at my squad. They all had the same look as Hinata. Their faces were blank, but stress and grief poured off them in roiling, crashing waves.

"Wh." I tried. Hinata looked down, slowly. A smile.

"You're awake. Good." She put a straw into my mouth, and I slurped at it greedily. "Shhh. It's ok. Shh." She whispered, stroking my hair. Her head fell back against her seat, black locks floating in the air, peaceful without gravity. Her thousand-yard stare did not disappear.

* * *

**A/N: **

**"We are the Dead. Short days ago  
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,  
Loved and were loved, and now we lie  
In Flanders fields" - In Flanders Fields by John McCrae**


	28. Interlude XIV

**A/N: IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT! (kind of...) _I'm officially announcing my next story!_ A World of Bloody Evolution, a Warhammer 40k x RWBY fic in which Yang mysteriously finds herself transported to the Warhammer 40k universe, and must cope with the endless warring that grips the grim darkness of the 41st millennium. If you like my writing, but don't know anything about either of the universes contained within, don't worry yourself. I promise you can enjoy it regardless! It'll be released the same day as the epilogue for Time to Say Goodbye.  
**

**Review Replies: **

**NenkotaMoon: I got the stuff right here.**

**tenneyshoes: Thank you so much! I agonized over his death scene for quite awhile, not sure if it was coming across well and whatnot.**

* * *

Interlude 14

**Excerpt from ****_Unification: An In-Depth Analysis And History_**** by Dr. Duncan. S. Thompson of Olympus University, Dr. Yiang Xu of Olympus University and Dr. Naota Haruno of Oxford University. ****_Chapter 3.1: The Allied Systems: Section 1 – A Brief Summary and Introduction_**

Born from the age of wonder and exploration that was the Diaspora, The Allied Systems (commonly referred to as Rebels) fought the Hegemony for a consecutive one hundred and forty one years, reaching their apex at the Battle of Mars, which was their watershed moment. After the four year battle concluded, they were left open and vulnerable, and finally surrendered on December 25th, 2582.

While Diaspora was no doubt humanity's greatest moment, forever preserving the Human Race in the vastness of the galaxy, it created a multitude of conflicts with the divided and diverse peoples that composed Humanity's push to the stars. After two hundred years of settlement, colonization and development, tensions between the billions of colonists and the Terran Hegemony became unbearable.

In what is widely known as the single most destructive act in Human history, a covert team of Jotuun Industrial operatives destroyed the colony hulk _Halcyon Days _in its final days of construction, killing four hundred thousand civilians in the resulting explosions, and an additional two hundred thousand in the orbital dry dock it resided in. This act of terrorism started an investigation into Jotunn Industrial, and uncovered the truth that hundreds of colonies and dozens of corporations had formed an alliance, and had been preparing for years to separate themselves from Earth's control. The Hegemony demanded obedience, and the newly-termed Alliance declined. Earth declared war, and with this one explosion, Unification began, going on to claim forty billion lives over its 141 year-period.

The next few chapters will delve into the reasons behind the war, and specific events that further escalated the conflict.

* * *

**A/N: It took six men to kill forty billion.**


	29. Interlude FINAL

**A/N: The final interlude.**

**Review Replies:**

**tenneyshoes: That will be revealed in the epilogue. It's vaguely spoiler-ish to tell exactly where they are in the timeline. :)**

* * *

Interlude FINAL

**Audio log 2444-1938b from the Laboratory Wing of the HNS-****_Prometheus_****. Two of the three founders of the Acolyte Initiative discuss their project. Made available with heavily restricted identification via the Dunawir Declassification Act.**

* * *

"I'm amazed you approved the documents. You two are always at each other's throats."

"He has a good regimen constructed. Your brother may be an annoyance, and he spends too much time with the Captain, but if anything, he knows how to train soldiers."

"That's why I asked him aboard, **[REDACTED]**. He might not be a brilliant man, but he's an exemplary warrior. He's one of the few with actual combat experience."

"That won't be unique for much longer. That _is_ why we're here, after all."

"You're right. No matter how much I wish it weren't so, you're right. War is brewing."

"Have faith, **[REDACTED]**. Our work will help prevent the loss of many lives."

"At the cost of their own."

"At the cost of their own. They will be the best though. The greatest warriors ever seen in the entirety of human history."

"But… **[REDACTED]**… What about the moments where they aren't soldiers? When they aren't Captains, Marines, or Rangers? What will they be then?"

"They won't be able to deny their nature. No more than we were."

"What we _are_ took billions of platinum and thousands of man-hours. And then they ask us to replicate it. Replicate our lives in the millions. You'll forgive me if I balk at the notion every so often."

"We never had it easy, **[REDACTED]**. Neither will they. But look at what we are capable of. Imagine _millions_ of us. Imagine what humanity could accomplish with that sheer potential."

"Butchery."

"Maybe. But this coming war will be brief. After that, they'll be free to help humanity however they choose."

"I see mercenaries and pirates."

"I see heroes. I see scientists and engineers. Are you unwell, **[REDACTED]**? You are rarely this glum."

"I don't know... I think the fact that you approved **[REDACTED]**'s Training Curriculum shocked me."

"The document is solid. Brutal, yes. But solid."

"Well, I'm unsatisfied. There must be limits."

**_[REDACTED] _**_sighs__._

"I understand. You were always too soft, **[REDACTED]**."

_A laugh_.

"Maybe so. I'll give this a once-over tonight and tomorrow. Let you know what the changes are."

"Do that. I'm sure your changes will be for the benefit of the program **UAWIBU# DUW)(AB #RWQNDT% **

* * *

**ERROR! ERROR! UNKNOWN PROGRAM IS ATTEMPTING ACCESS!**

**ERROR!**

**ALERT!**

**DECRYPTION SOFTWARE INSTALLED!**

**FIREWALLS 1-12,139,512 BREACHED**!

**ORIGINAL SOURCE FILE ACCESSED...**

**DISPLAYING...**

* * *

"Thank you, Madara."

"You're welcome, Hashirama. And for Gods' sake, cheer up. It unnerves me to see you so morbid."

* * *

**A/N: One still lives, and weeps tears unending for his deeds.**


	30. Time to Say Goodbye

**A/N: This is it. The final chapter. There will be a omake and an epilogue after this, but they will come at random times (within the next two weeks), and are non-critical to the story. A heartfelt thank you everyone who took the time to read my story. Special thanks goes out to tenneyshoes, iyaoyas, and MYK-ON, for their continued support and constant reviews. :3 **

**This story underwent a lot of changes to get where it is today, and _wow_ is it crazy to see where it ended up. Thanks again for coming along for the ride! I had a lot of fun writing it, glad you guys liked it too.**

**Cover Image by u/BendyWend**

**Disclaimer: I'm not even gonna say it.**

* * *

**Chapter 15 - Time to Say Goodbye**

I don't remember most of what happened next, but collected what I could from reports and my squadmates.

We were rushed to the hospital on the _Omodaru_, to be treated immediately. All of us were wounded, some of us worse than others. Hinata lost her leg; it was too shattered to recover. They cut it off like they did the scraps of my arm, sawing it off at the uppermost joint. Chouji suffered moderate brain bleeding from the traffic light incident during the storm. He was rushed into the emergency ward right after the MRI.

Tenten needed a new liver. It wasn't too badly damaged, but the doctors weren't taking any chances. Her earlier facial wound was stitched up, a line of black that ran from her chin to her ear. It hadn't healed too well over our four-day stay on Quiet Dunes.

All of us suffered lacerations and bullet wounds, myself being the most heavily damaged. Six bullets, twelve pieces of shrapnel, four broken bones, a missing arm, and two cracked ribs. The knife in my chest missed an artery, the blade pushed a centimeter away from bleeding me dry. I had my armor to thank for that. I also had severe hearing damage, cochlear ruptures that would take a few weeks to heal completely.

Sakura had seven pieces of shrapnel in her, all from the mortar strikes.

Lee shattered the bones in his hands, probably from punching so many rebels in the melee.

When I woke for the first time, I saw Shino sitting next to me. I was strapped down so I wouldn't float away, otherwise I would have jerked upright.

He was in a medical gown, and covered in bandages. I learned later that his survival had been a very near thing. Without his usual sunglasses, I remembered his eyes were very small. They didn't move much when they saw I had awoken.

"Hey." Shino, a man of many words.

"Hey."

"You did all you could. And I am eternally grateful for that." He left then, no goodbye, nothing. It was his way, I guess.

* * *

Sakura visited me too.

"Hey, Nii-chan."

"Hey, Nee-chan." There wasn't much we could say. So we cried instead.

* * *

Three Days Later

When they gave me my new arm, they let Hinata come as well. She was due for a new leg. Our missing limbs now ended in metal sockets, ready to accept bionic replacements.

We held hands as they fitted us, shoving and shunting our new limbs into place. Hinata screamed in pain, and clenched my hand. I didn't blame her, it hurt like hell.

* * *

Two Days Later

The assault on Quiet Dunes had been a total success. The mining operations were seized, only one spire suffering destruction. Rebel forces had been decimated, and surrendered just an hour ago. A few holdouts remained, small and easily triumphed.

Erebus, and Quiet Dunes as a whole, was firmly in Hegemony grasp. The _Omodaru _and the rest of the Second Fleet still orbited the red monster though, ready at a moment's notice to leave for their next destination: Haelisgaard. Orders had just come through from top brass, orders that even Obaa-chan obeyed. The rebel assault was intensifying, and it was quickly escalating into the biggest battle of Unification. But departure wasn't for another day or so.

I didn't really know, the past few days were a blur. After losing Kiba and Sasuke, and emerging from all the horrors we had seen, it was difficult returning to a semblance of peace. I remember tearing a leaf off the scrubber-ivy that lined the halls of the ship. It felt like years since I'd seen the color green. Must have stared at that leaf for hours.

I had been lying in my bunk in the officer's quarters_, _trying not to think. I was afraid. Afraid I'd remember and break down. But I couldn't hide away forever, as my data pad reminded me, beeping soflty. A message from Tsunade. I read it and sighed. It was only for the best.

I forwarded the message to the rest of the squad, and prepared myself. My dress blacks were in my locker, right where I left them. They had been untouched since I moved here, abandoned. I buckled them on, the gold-trimmed ebony cloth sliding over me with great difficulty. I was still getting used to my new arm, and the metal fingers were still adjusting to the neural impulses I sent them. Sometimes they clenched too hard, sometimes too softly.

Before leaving, I swallowed my immunosuppressants, the choking blue and green pills filling my hand. The last part of my uniform was still in the closet, a white peaked cap, also trimmed in gold. Fixing it on my head, I left my room.

The hallways were busy. Nurses, troops and officers floated up and down the hallways, all with different businesses to perform. None of them paid attention to me.

I made my way through the cramped hallways, worn handles guiding me to my destination. Finding the door, I raised my hand to knock, but a sound stopped me. It was a guitar. Sakura's guitar. She hadn't touched the thing in ages. Why now?

A few chords, born into harmony and fading away into nothingness. Then she sung, a low and raspy sound, like the sound of a river running over stones. She sang an old song.

"Meet me, oh darlin' in the city." I didn't have the heart to interrupt her, although I probably should have.

"And see everything is so fine." I could feel her misery from behind the grey metal door. It pulled at my heart, tearing and relentless.

"We'll get together now darlin'." A pause. "Oh yes, we will." She strummed, the rich, warm sound reverberating throughout the hallway.

"We'll make everything all right." Her voice warbled, a rattling sigh escaping her lips.

"Now honey, don't… oh honey, don't." Grief choked her words now, her song a strangled, tear-choked cry.

"P-Pleeeeeaase. Please, _please_ don't leave me right now, baby, right now, right now. Oh no, no, no." Her singing died off, replaced by throaty, gasping sobs. The guitar continued its song. Tears were forming at my eyes, but they didn't leave my face. I knocked.

"Hey Nee-chan." Her guitar still sung its tune.

"Hey Nii-chan."

"It's… time to say goodbye." The guitar died.

A minute passed. Then another. Finally, she opened her door, in full dress regalia. Her eyes were bloodshot and raw, dark bags barely holding them in place. I didn't think she'd slept. She blinked at me, clutching her silver necklace.

"Let's go."

* * *

The Kosenjobi assembled on a starboard airlock, surrounding two slate-grey coffins. All of us were in dress blacks. New medals adorned our chests, as well as the lids of the coffins.

I began, saying the words I'd always hoped I'd never have to say.

"Our brothers were born for war, as were we all. On this battlefield, this black infinity before us, we commit them to rest, for now their war is over. May Inuzuka Kiba and Uchiha Sasuke forever know peace." Our heads bowed in respect.

"If you would." I asked, trying to remain strong. Hinata stepped forward, placing a device on the center of Kiba's coffin. She pressed a button, and it blinked a slow, red pulse. Sakura did the same to Sasuke's.

As one, we picked them up and placed them in the airlock, setting the containers down before us. We turned, and left in unison.

"Kosnejobiiiii…. Halt!" I cried. They stopped, anchoring themselves to the floor. I tapped a button on my lapel.

"This is Kosenjobi-Actual to Control-03. Please open starboard loading door oh-six-seven." The doors opened, and the caskets shot off into the blackness of space, blinking a slow, deep red. We could see them, just beyond the small windows that sat on either side of the airlock. So small, against so many stars.

"Kosenjobiiii…. Right Face!" They obeyed. "Atten-_SHUN_!" They snapped their heels together, and hands met caps in a rigid salute. I tapped my lapel again. "Whenever you're ready, Obaa-chan."

We stood at attention. A few seconds passed before the floor beneath us vibrated. Two streaks of light soared out into space, and obliterated the coffins.

"Kosenjobi, _what are we_?"

"WE ARE MARINES. WE ARE THE FIRST AND THE LAST. THE TIP OF THE SPEAR. THE POINT THAT PIERCES THE HEART OF THE FOE."

"_**Who** are we_?"

"WE ARE WARBORN. BORN AND BRED TO BE THE ULTIMATE WARRIORS."

"_Why are we here_?"

"TO REMEMBER THOSE THAT HAVE GONE BEFORE, THAT THEY MAY LIVE FOREVER IN OUR HEARTS."

"Let them rest!"

"FOR THEY SLEEP THE LONG SLEEP, THAT PEACE MAY COME AGAIN."

Our ceremony ended, and I realized Hinata was squeezing my hand.

And we weren't crying any more.

**END**

* * *

**A/N: **

**"Now it's time to say goodbye,**

**to the things we loved, **

**and the innocence of youth!**

**How the time seemed to fly**

**from our carefree lives,**

**and the solitude and peace we always knew."**


	31. Chapter ?

**A/N: This is referred to as an 'omake' because it does not take place from Naruto's perspective, but adds some interesting insights (at least, I believe so), and wraps up some minor plot threads. **

**Oh! And go check out my newest fic, a RWBYxEvangelion crossover called "The Ones You Love Mean More Than Anything". Don't worry, the other crossover is still coming, but that won't be out for awhile.**

**And for those who are curious, the song sung by Sakura in the last chapter was 'Meet Me In the City'. Go listen to the Black Keys version of the song if you're in the mood for some feels.**

**Thanks again for all the support, you guys! Reviews always make my day!**

* * *

Field Marshal Tsunade Kato was never partial to celebration. The rebels had been defeated five days ago, and the formal surrender had just arrived on her desk. Victory was hers. Again. Instead of the saccharine savor of victory, she tasted bile, bitter and black. For it was in the throes of victory that she once lost everything that was precious to her. It soured her taste for winning.

Taking a jar of saké out from under her desk, she filled an empty squeeze bottle with the liquid, careful not to let any spill out into the room. Winning left a bad taste in her mouth, a taste that saké helped combat, helped battle away the memories.

Rice wine rushed down her throat, sending a warm sensation seeping into her core. Memories always came with victory, and the memories were never good. They smelt of death, of her late husband Dan. She reminisced about the time they spent together, and had her heart broken again when she forced herself to move on. Another sip of saké. Every time she did that, every time she forced herself to stop thinking about him, she felt another memory of him fade away, another piece of happiness drowned in melancholy.

Then she thought of Jiraya. She took a sip. Her consummate squadmate and close friend. He had died only months ago, and she still hadn't the heart to tell his best student, that Uzumaki brat. That wound was fresher than the one Dan left, but no less deep. More saké. Rumors were he fell to a rebel organization known as Akatsuki. And that they were warborn. Another sip. If the rebels had warborn, that was bad news. Thoughts of her enemies soured her thoughts more, bringing the next link in the chain of bad memories.

That _snake_ Orochimaru. Another squadmate of hers, but one she did not remember fondly. That bastard betrayed her deep-set trust and millions of lives with a wave of his hand. It was a miracle Babel was able to recover from the bombardment, and that they managed to capture that dick-weasel.

She didn't know what happened to him, and hoped she never did. She preferred her current theory: 'painfully tortured until he died like a bitch'.

A voice came over her data-slate. Uzumaki.

"Whenever you're ready, Obaa-chan." She sighed. Her newest graduates had their first taste of combat, and already felt the pang of loss. _Such is the life we lead_, she thought, giving control of the starboard guns to Shikaku.

The ship rumbled, but only barely. She slurped on the saké. It tasted better this time, as it always did. _I'll tell him in a bit. The kid needs some time. Poor bastard._

In the meantime, she needed to distract herself from her memories. Tsunade didn't want to deal with this right now, but sooner was better than later. Had to be ripped off like a band-aid. She thumbed a button on her desk, summoning her niece and assistant, Flight Lieutenant Shizune. The door opened with a _swoosh_, and the woman stood without, upside down.

"Shizune-chan, please send in our guest." Shizune nodded, and the door closed. A minute passed, a time during which Tsunade finished her sake. The door slid open, and an ancient, haggard woman slithered through.

"Turn yourself around." She told her, voice brokering no argument. The woman's eyes narrowed, but she obeyed, rotating herself to match Tsuande, the practiced maneuver of an experienced naval officer.

"Make yourself comfortable." She reached into her desk and removed a set of pictures, spreading them out before her. Horrid, stomach-turning pictures. "We have a lot to talk about, _Aunty_."

* * *

**A/N: Grats to those who picked up the hints I dropped. :) Next up is the final chapter, the epilogue.**


	32. As the Nightmare Fades

**A/N: Here it is everyone. The final chapter. It's been an awesome ride, and thank you to everyone who joined in. I won't stop writing Naruto fanfiction, but I will probably be focusing on my two RWBY crossovers. Although, it is time to say goodbye to the 'Warborn' universe, at least for now.**

**It's a fun place to be, but the original story is craving attention.**

**As always, please review or message me your thoughts, especially as the story draws to a close. Thanks again to my readers. You are all wonderful people.**

**_16,000_ _views_. Holy crap. Stay awesome, people.**

* * *

**Epilogue: As the Nightmare Fades**

My husband is an idiot. Don't get me wrong, I love and cherish him more than life itself, but let it never be said he was a brilliant man.

Well, I suppose that's unfair. He was a brilliant leader. He brought me back alive after twenty years of war, and he's raised our three beautiful children to the best of his ability. I hear you thinking, 'then, why do you call him an idiot?'

Because, reader, whoever you might be, he thought he could start writing this story of his without me noticing.

It started out small at first. On his birthday a few months back, he rolled out of bed and started typing something onto his computer. I don't know what it was, and I didn't care. I was exhausted, so I pulled the covers over my head and went to sleep.

But he didn't stop. He kept at it, day after day, his fingers flying faster and faster over the keyboard as the days went on. I could tell he was focused, so I gave him his coffee and a kiss on his whiskered cheeks, a whispered 'come to bed soon'.

He'd smile that smile of his, the one I fell in love with, the one I will never stop loving. But it was tinged with sadness, like his grins in those five years after Unification ended.

Those years were a dark time.

I'd often wake up in a cold sweat, tearing my pillow to shreds with my hands. Sometimes I saw the friends I lost, sometimes I saw Konoha on fire. Naruto said I'd been crying in my sleep, so he'd hold me, wrapping me in his arms. It stopped the nightmares, or at least beat them back into the recesses of my mind.

He had it worse though. He _screamed_. Suffering from regular sleep paralysis, he'd moan a horrible sound through closed lips as he tried to free himself from the visions. No matter how much I shook him, he wouldn't wake until the nightmares let him. The worst night was during a vicious thunderstorm, when the peals of thunder woke me from my sleep to find him huddled in the kitchen, taking cover behind the counter.

Working furiously, his hands tried to jam imaginary rounds into the toaster, while he whispered, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm _sorry_."

We found help after that. It took a few years of effort, but after months of therapy and drugs aplenty, we felt like the masks that had consumed us over all those years had finally melted away. Life was bright again, even though we never forgot our grief.

But it was hard to do so when the reminders were literally part of our bodies. We received new arms and legs after our service ended, soft, warm flesh replacing the metal we had grown accustomed to over the years. The limbs were pink, bright pink, having experienced none of the battery the rest of our bodies suffered.

Old friends and comrades came around every so often, to drink and reminisce. We made a trip to Earth a couple years after we got married. Sakura was there to greet us, crushing us with her huge arms into a powerful embrace. Next to her was a tiny, scholarly man, who we later learned was her fiancé.

Naruto, that tactless, perfect moron, laughed like a maniac when he found out. The concept of Sakura marrying someone who was not even half her size amused him to no end. The man, a professor at Oxford, laughed it off. He was a kind, soft-spoken, genial man, whose passing a few years ago saddened Sakura greatly. They had a single son, the famed investigative reporter and historian Dr. Naota Haruno.

In our seventh year of marriage, six years after the Peace Accord, I gave birth to Haruko, a beautiful baby girl. She had her father's deep blue eyes and my hair, thick and dark. A bubbly, pure child, one not subjected to the same modifications her parents were. When I held her in my arms, I wept in pure happiness for the first time in my life.

Our next two children came at once a year later. Twins, Boruto and Himawari. They were carbon copies of their older sister. For the next five years, the Uzumaki household was one of constant chaos and disorder.

We loved it.

After living the structured, rigid military life for decades, the sleepless nights and stained carpets were relief beyond measure.

We learned shortly into their lives they are all synesthetes, born with the ability to see color in the sounds that surrounded them. Imagine my shock when little Haruko tugged on my shirt one day, asking me why my voice is green. The twins did the same thing, asking similar questions. Naruto told them it was a super-power, and they ran away shrieking in delight. We both knew it was a rare side effect from his second kekkai genkai. Just more reasons why they were precious to us. But there were other issues that stemmed from their parents being warborn.

The children grew and grew, the years flying by. And each year, Naruto and I looked over all the pictures, realizing neither of us were aging. We looked as we did when we were thirty. I'm a hundred years old now, and I don't look a day over forty. We don't know why. We had our suspicions of course, but they weren't more than unfounded guesses about the gamut of modifications and enhancements we received.

One might think this is a blessing, if one did not have to watch one's children age. Haruko asked me about it recently. She's fifty-three years old, with a family and career of her own, and grey hairs starting to eat at her scalp. I didn't know what to tell her. Naruto was speechless as well, something I've not seen in decades. In our household, emotions were rarely kept in check, our petty fights and spats explosive but brief. An open, sharing household. A loving one.

But the thought of having to bury our children tortures us more than the nightmares.

We pushed that thought away, as we did with everything else that pained us. Two weeks after her visit, Naruto's birthday arrived, and the writing began.

And it appears as though I've gone way off track. I'm not the writer, Naruto is, even though he stopped suddenly a few weeks ago.

When I asked him if he was done with his project on the computer, his face went ashen. I decided not to press the issue. Like I said before, it was hard not to notice, and he's an idiot about these sorts of things.

So I sent him out for groceries and copied his hard drive wholesale. I was a curious wife. Sue me. I found this story, and all the files Kakashi-sensei had given him (which we had discussed long ago). I'm amazed by his recollection. For someone who struggles with simple calculus, his memory is exceptionally vivid. I remember all of his accounts, to the letter. Especially that night I'd never forget, where we kissed under the gaze of a blue moon. I still remember his adorable slack-jawed expression when I surprised him.

That picture of us by Station 135 sits on my nightstand to this day. Erebus may have been a place of sorrow and grief, but it is still my most favorite picture. We're filthy and armor-clad. Naruto's arm is in the shot, just on the right edge. I have one hand on his chest, the other around his waist. It was a quick, sloppy thing, that picture. But we have the brightest eyes, the biggest smiles. Bright, young love that has long since grown old and even more treasured.

I don't know if you'll ever return to this file, Naruto-kun, but if you do, I'm sorry for prying. I know our time on Erebus still haunts us, so remember, we're still in this together, like we always were, like we always will be. When I feel your arms around me each night, I know that I'd do it all over again.

Because I love you, Naruto-kun, and I know we're going to be alright.

* * *

**A/N: ****They finally saw peace. **


End file.
